Ivan Novikoff was a ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 master.

Born in Kazan

Kazan

Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, Novikoff studied at the Imperial Ballet School. He fled to China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 because of the Russian Revolution of 1917

Russian Revolution of 1917

The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...

 at age 17, where he taught dance to the children of Russian soldiers.

In 1923, he immigrated to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, where he continued teaching ballet until his death. After moving from San Francisco to Seattle, he founded the Novikoff School of Russian-American Ballet in the early 1930s and received the Governor's Heritage Award (of the state of Washington) in 1989. Novikoff followed in the footsteps of another preeminent ballet teacher Dame Ninette de Valois

Ninette de Valois

Dame Ninette de Valois, OM, CH, DBE, FRAD, FISTD was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer and director of classical ballet...

, founder of the Royal Ballet of London.

Among his students in Seattle were Robert Joffrey

Robert Joffrey

Robert Joffrey was an American dancer, teacher, producer and choreographer, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets...

 and Gerald Arpino

Gerald Arpino

Gerald Arpino was an American dancer and choreographer. He was the artistic director and co-founder of The Joffrey Ballet.-Life and career:...

.

Sources

• Ivan F. Novikoff from Seattle, WA Governors Awards, 1989