Leonid Kozlov
Encyclopedia
Leonid Kozlov is a former principal dancer
of the Bolshoi
and New York City Ballet
. He is also a choreographer, and the founder of Kozlov Dance International (KDI) and Youth Dance Festival of New Jersey
.
at age 12. He later joined the Bolshoi company and became a principal dancer with performances in Romeo and Juliet
, Swan Lake
, Don Quixote, Giselle
, Le Corsaire
, The Stone Flower
, Spartacus
, The Sleeping Beauty, and La Bayadere
.
Kozlov met his former wife, Valentina Kozlova - an apprentice, in 1973 at the ballet Paquita
during Bolshoi's tour in America. They married later that year. He and Kozlova decided to defect together on September 16, 1979, when they walked out of a garage door at Shrine Auditorium
in Los Angeles
. After asylum
was granted on September 17, 1979, they started their career in the United States as guest artists by performing in Britain
, South America
, Australia
and across North America
. With those international tours, Kozlov had opportunities to work with famous choreographers including George Balanchine
, Jerome Robbins
, George Abbott
, Glen Tetley
, and Alvin Ailey
.
Kozlov staged his first Nutcracker
production for the Australian Ballet at the Sydney Opera House
in 1981. The following year, he choreographed the Australian Ballet's first commissioned Nutcracker, premiered at the Palais Theatre
on Octerber 8, 1982. He also staged other productions: Swan Lake
and Don Quixote for National Ballet of Chile; and for New Jersey Ballet
.
Kozlov had an opportunity to star in the national previews of the Broadway
revival of Roger
& Hart
’s On Your Toes
in 1983. He was then invited by Balanchine to become New York City Ballet
's principal dancer. He was with NYCB for eleven years with his repertoire of over 30 ballets.
On March 1, 1991, Kozlov performed in Moscow again for the first time after his defection as part of Stars of American Ballet by American choreographers and dancers from New York City Ballet, New Jersey Ballet, and Paul Taylor Dance Company
in the 6,000-seat theater at the Kremlin Palace of Congresses.
Currently, Kozlov is an Artistic Advisor to New Jersey Ballet and director of Kozlov Dance International.
. The missions of the company are to develop students into a professional level and to bring awareness of art and culture to local communities. KDI's repertory includes, The Nutcracker
, Swan Lake
(Act II), Don Quixote, Giselle
(Act II), Paquita
, The Firebird, La Vivandiere, Chopiniana, Pas de Quatre
, and Kozlov's original works. Kozlov staged the Nutcracker
production for the first time in Aruba
in 2008.
Kozlov also founded Youth Dance Festival of New Jersey in 2005. It is an annual dance competition in classical ballet
, contemporary dance
, jazz
, folk dance
and Irish step dance for dancers aged 9–21 with participation from more than 150 dance schools.
Principal dancer
A principal dancer is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company....
of the Bolshoi
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
and New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
. He is also a choreographer, and the founder of Kozlov Dance International (KDI) and Youth Dance Festival of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Biography
Kozlov started his dance career by training at the Bolshoi Ballet SchoolBolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
at age 12. He later joined the Bolshoi company and became a principal dancer with performances in Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
, Don Quixote, Giselle
Giselle
Giselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...
, Le Corsaire
Le Corsaire
Le Corsaire is a ballet typically presented in three acts, with a libretto originally created by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges loosely based on the poem The Corsair by Lord Byron. Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Adolphe Adam, it was first presented by the ballet of...
, The Stone Flower
The Stone Flower
The Stone Flower is a 1946 Soviet fantasy film directed by Aleksandr Ptushko. It was the Soviet Union's first color film shot on AgfaColor negative film seized in Germany, and was entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival...
, Spartacus
Spartacus
Spartacus was a famous leader of the slaves in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable...
, The Sleeping Beauty, and La Bayadere
La Bayadère
La Bayadère is a ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by French choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. La Bayadère was first performed by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on...
.
Kozlov met his former wife, Valentina Kozlova - an apprentice, in 1973 at the ballet Paquita
Paquita
Paquita is a ballet in two acts and three scenes, with libretto by Joseph Mazilier and Paul Foucher. Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Edouard Deldevez. First presented by at the Salle Le Peletier by the Paris Opera Ballet on 1 April 1846...
during Bolshoi's tour in America. They married later that year. He and Kozlova decided to defect together on September 16, 1979, when they walked out of a garage door at Shrine Auditorium
Shrine Auditorium
The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue, in Los Angeles, California, USA. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners.-History:...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. After asylum
Right of asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
was granted on September 17, 1979, they started their career in the United States as guest artists by performing in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and across North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. With those international tours, Kozlov had opportunities to work with famous choreographers including George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
, Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
, George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
, Glen Tetley
Glen Tetley
Glen Tetley was an American ballet and modern dancer as well as a choreographer who mixed ballet and modern dance to create a new way of looking at dance, and is best known for his piece Pierrot Lunaire.-Biography:Glenford Andrew Tetley, Jr. was born on February 3, 1926 in Cleveland, Ohio...
, and Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey, Jr. was an American choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York. Ailey is credited with popularizing modern dance and revolutionizing African-American participation in 20th century concert dance...
.
Kozlov staged his first Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
production for the Australian Ballet at the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
in 1981. The following year, he choreographed the Australian Ballet's first commissioned Nutcracker, premiered at the Palais Theatre
Palais Theatre
The Palais Theatre is a former cinema, now functioning exclusively as a concert venue, located in St Kilda, Victoria, Australia. With a capacity of 2,896 people, it is the largest seated theatre in Australia....
on Octerber 8, 1982. He also staged other productions: Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
and Don Quixote for National Ballet of Chile; and for New Jersey Ballet
New Jersey Ballet
The New Jersey Ballet is a ballet company based in Livingston, New Jersey in the United States, founded in 1958 by native New Jerseyan Carolyn Clark and her fellow dancer, George Tomal.- History :...
.
Kozlov had an opportunity to star in the national previews of the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
revival of Roger
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
& Hart
Lorenz Hart
Lorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
’s On Your Toes
On Your Toes
On Your Toes is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939....
in 1983. He was then invited by Balanchine to become New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
's principal dancer. He was with NYCB for eleven years with his repertoire of over 30 ballets.
On March 1, 1991, Kozlov performed in Moscow again for the first time after his defection as part of Stars of American Ballet by American choreographers and dancers from New York City Ballet, New Jersey Ballet, and Paul Taylor Dance Company
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Paul Taylor Dance Company, is a contemporary dance company, formed by Paul Taylor, an American choreographer of the 20th century. One of the early touring companies of American modern dance, the Company has "performed in more than 500 cities in 62 countries" and still spends more than half of each...
in the 6,000-seat theater at the Kremlin Palace of Congresses.
Currently, Kozlov is an Artistic Advisor to New Jersey Ballet and director of Kozlov Dance International.
Kozlov Dance International
While Kozlov was a principal dancer of New York City Ballet, he also founded Kozlov Dance International (KDI) in 1991 based in Ridgewood, New JerseyRidgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 24,958. Ridgewood is an affluent suburban bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown Manhattan.The Village of Ridgewood was...
. The missions of the company are to develop students into a professional level and to bring awareness of art and culture to local communities. KDI's repertory includes, The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
, Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
(Act II), Don Quixote, Giselle
Giselle
Giselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...
(Act II), Paquita
Paquita
Paquita is a ballet in two acts and three scenes, with libretto by Joseph Mazilier and Paul Foucher. Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Edouard Deldevez. First presented by at the Salle Le Peletier by the Paris Opera Ballet on 1 April 1846...
, The Firebird, La Vivandiere, Chopiniana, Pas de Quatre
Pas de Quatre
Pas de Quatre is a ballet divertissement choreographed by Jules Perrot in 1845, on the suggestion of Benjamin Lumley, Director at His Majestys Theatre to music composed by Cesare Pugni....
, and Kozlov's original works. Kozlov staged the Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
production for the first time in Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
in 2008.
Kozlov also founded Youth Dance Festival of New Jersey in 2005. It is an annual dance competition in classical ballet
Classical ballet
Classical Ballet is the most formal of the ballet styles, it adheres to traditional ballet technique. There are variations relating to area of origin, such as Russian ballet, French ballet, British ballet and Italian ballet...
, contemporary dance
Contemporary dance
Contemporary dance is a genre of concert dance that employs compositional philosophy, rather than choreography, to guide unchoreographed movement...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, folk dance
Folk dance
The term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:*They are dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music or music based on traditional music....
and Irish step dance for dancers aged 9–21 with participation from more than 150 dance schools.