Yury Grigorovich
Encyclopedia
Yury Nikolayevich Grigorovich (born January 2, 1927 in Leningrad
) is a Soviet and Russia
n dancer and choreographer who dominated the Russian ballet for 30 years.
Grigorovich was born into a family connected with the Imperial Russian Ballet. He graduated from the Leningrad Choreographic School in 1946 and danced as a soloist of the Kirov Ballet until 1962. His staging of Sergey Prokofiev's The Stone Flower
(1957) and of The Legend of Love (1961) brought him acclaim as a choreographer. In 1964 he moved to the Bolshoi Theatre
, where he would work as an artistic director until 1995. His most famous productions at the Bolshoi were The Nutcracker
(1966), Spartacus
(1967), and Ivan the Terrible (1975). He controversially reworked Swan Lake
to produce a happy end for the story in 1984. In 1995, he was accused of having allowed the theatre to plunge into stagnation and after many a squabble was ousted from office. Thereupon he choreographed for various Russian companies before settling in Krasnodar
, where he set up his own company. Grigorovich has been heading the juries of numerous international competitions in classical ballet. After the death of his wife, the great ballerina Natalia Bessmertnova
, on February 19, 2008, he has been offered the opportunity to return to the Bolshoi
again in the capacity of ballet master and choreographer.
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
) is a Soviet and 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...
n dancer and choreographer who dominated the Russian ballet for 30 years.
Grigorovich was born into a family connected with the Imperial Russian Ballet. He graduated from the Leningrad Choreographic School in 1946 and danced as a soloist of the Kirov Ballet until 1962. His staging of Sergey Prokofiev's 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...
(1957) and of The Legend of Love (1961) brought him acclaim as a choreographer. In 1964 he moved to the Bolshoi Theatre
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...
, where he would work as an artistic director until 1995. His most famous productions at the Bolshoi were 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...
(1966), Spartacus
Spartacus (ballet)
Spartacus, or Spartak, is a ballet by Aram Khachaturian . The work follows the exploits of Spartacus, the leader of the slave uprising against the Romans known as the Third Servile War, although the ballet's storyline takes considerable liberties with the historical record. Khachaturian composed...
(1967), and Ivan the Terrible (1975). He controversially reworked 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...
to produce a happy end for the story in 1984. In 1995, he was accused of having allowed the theatre to plunge into stagnation and after many a squabble was ousted from office. Thereupon he choreographed for various Russian companies before settling in Krasnodar
Krasnodar
Krasnodar is a city in Southern Russia, located on the Kuban River about northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai . Population: -Name:...
, where he set up his own company. Grigorovich has been heading the juries of numerous international competitions in classical ballet. After the death of his wife, the great ballerina Natalia Bessmertnova
Natalia Bessmertnova
Natalia Igorevna Bessmertnova was a Soviet prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet and a People's Artist of the USSR .-Life:...
, on February 19, 2008, he has been offered the opportunity to return to 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...
again in the capacity of ballet master and choreographer.
Honours and awards
- 1957 - Honoured Artist of the RSFSR
- 1957 - Medal "In memory of the 250th Anniversary of Leningrad"
- 1959 - Order of the science and art of Egypt
- 1966 - People's Artist of the RSFSR
- 1969 - Award of Sergei Diaghilev of the Paris Academy of Dance
- 1970 - Jubilee medal "For Valiant Labour. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin"
- 1970 - Lenin PrizeLenin PrizeThe Lenin Prize was one of the most prestigious awards of the USSR, presented to individuals for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was created on June 23, 1925 and was awarded until 1934. During the period from 1935 to 1956, the Lenin Prize was...
- 1973 - People's Artist of the USSRPeople's Artist of the USSRPeople's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...
- 1976 - Order of LeninOrder of LeninThe Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
- 1977 - Order of Saints Cyril and MethodiusOrder of Saints Cyril and MethodiusThe Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius is an award conferred by the Republic of Bulgaria. It has three incarnations; first on 18 May 1909 by the Kingdom of Bulgaria, second on 13 December 1950 by the People's Republic of Bulgaria and finally by the current republic on 29 May 2003....
, 1st class (Bulgaria) - 1977 - USSR State PrizeUSSR State PrizeThe USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
- 1977 - Medal "100 years of Bulgaria's Liberation from Ottoman slavery"
- 1980 - Honorary Citizen of VarnaVarnaVarna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
- 1981 - Order of the October RevolutionOrder of the October RevolutionThe Order of the October Revolution was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was awarded to individuals or groups for services furthering communism or the state, or in enhancing the defenses of the Soviet Union, military and civil...
- 1981 - People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR
- 1983 - State Prize of the Uzbek SSR
- 1985 - USSR State PrizeUSSR State PrizeThe USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
- for the creation of artistic and athletic programs of the XII World Youth and Student Festival in Luzhniki, Moscow - 1986 - Hero of Socialist Labour
- 1986 - Order of LeninOrder of LeninThe Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
- 1987 - Order of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, 1st class
- 1995 - Honoured Artist of Kazakhstan
- 1996 - People's Artist of the Republic of Bashkortostan
- 1997 - Vaslav Nijinsky Medal (Ministry of Culture of Poland)
- 2001 - Order of the Arts' Amber Cross ", the highest award of the Russian Academy of Arts and musical performance
- 2002 - Order of Merit for the FatherlandOrder of Merit for the FatherlandThe Order of Merit for the Fatherland was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree. The statutes describe it as a decoration for merit, not an order of knights....
, 3rd class - for outstanding contribution to the development of choreographic art - 2002 - "Badge poshani" (Honor), the highest award of the mayor of Kiev
- 2002 - Badge of "370 years of Yakutia in Russia"
- 2002 - Fyodor Volkov award for his contribution to the theatrical art of the Russian Federation
- 2003 - National Theatre Prize Golden MaskGolden MaskThe Golden Mask is a Russian theatre festival and the National Theatre Award established in 1994 by the Theatre Union of Russia. The award is given to productions in all genres of theatre art: drama, opera, ballet, operetta and musical, and puppet theatre. It presents the most significant...
in nomination "For the honour and dignity" - 2003 - Badge of "civic virtue" of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)
- 2003 - Medal of the "Hero of Labour of Kuban" (Krasnodar region)
- 2004 - Order of Merit (Ukraine)Order of Merit (Ukraine)The Order of Merit first, second or third class, is the Ukrainian award, given to individuals for outstanding achievements in economics, science, culture, military or political spheres of activity...
, third class - 2004 - Medal of the National Opera of Ukraine to the 100th anniversary of Serge Lifar
- 2004 - Badge of Honor of the Ministry of Culture and the Arts "for his personal contribution to the development of art"
- 2005 - The highest theatrical award of St. Petersburg "Gold soffit"
- 2005 - Order of Dostyk
- 2006 - Award "Russian National Olympus" in nomination "Man epoch", medal "For the honor and valor"
- 2006 - Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
- 2007 - Order of Merit for the FatherlandOrder of Merit for the FatherlandThe Order of Merit for the Fatherland was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree. The statutes describe it as a decoration for merit, not an order of knights....
, 2nd class - for outstanding contribution to the development of domestic and international choreographic art, many years of creative activity - 2007 - Order of Francisc SkorinaOrder of Francisc SkorinaThe Order of Francisc Skorina is an award of Belarus. It is named after Francisc Skorina, a noted academic who, in the early 16th century, participated in the formalisation of Belarussian as a separate, recorded language and therefore the establishment of a national identity. It is a single level...
- 2008 - OvationOvation (award)Ovation is a Russian National Music Award in the field of entertainment and popular music.It is the Russian analogue of foreign music awards - American «Grammy» and the British «Brit awards»...
- 2009 - Medal of Honour (Armenia)