George Balanchine
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George Balanchine was a Russian-American ballet choreographer of Georgian descent, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers of the 20th century. Styled as the father of American ballet
Balanchine in 1965
Balanchine's father Meliton
Young Balanchine, pictured in the 1920s
Apollon musagète, 1928
Alexandra Danilova
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Aleksandra Dionisyevna Danilova was a Russian-born prima ballerina, who became an American citizen. In 1989, she was recognized for lifetime achievements in ballet as a Kennedy Center Honoree.
George Balanchine
…Ballet managed to obtain a permission to leave Soviet Russia and tour around Europe. Balanchine with his wife, Tamara Geva, and several other dancers (Alexandra Danilova, Nicholas Efimov) went to Germany, but their performances in Berlin received a chilly response. The Young Ballet had to perform in small cities of the…
Danilova as Fanny Cerrito in Pas de Quatre, 1948
Danilova's "red swan" tutu, used when she danced the role of Odile in Swan Lake (New York Public Library)