Main ballet dancers. Who is the choreographer? Famous choreographers of the world

At all times, dance as an art form has attracted the attention of millions of spectators. For beginning dancers, they serve as a source of inspiration. Each of them achieved success thanks to their talent and long hard work.

Dance is not just movements honed according to special rules to the beat of music. This is a special philosophy that embodies freedom of thought, a rush of passion and absolute harmony. Dances performed by true masters fascinate, completely absorb, taking you into an unreal world to which the material is alien. It is not surprising that the names of the best dancers are passed down from generation to generation, confidently confirming the truth: true talent is immortal.

What was the creative path of the legendary Masters of Movement? How did the best dancers in the world achieve success? What did world recognition cost these great people? Is it possible to repeat their path? Let's open a few pages of dance history...

Bill Irwin: peaks are within reach

The star of one of the best dancers on the planet lit up in 1926 in the slums, and in the literal sense of the word. The small Scottish town of Kilseef, a simple mining family - let's face it, not the most favorable conditions for the development of creative abilities. However, it was the parents who became the main driving force for this: they just took little Bill to dance parties. At the age of 11, the boy, easily mastering steps in different directions, was already known as the best dancer in the area, and at 16 he won his first significant victory, backed by a prize of 10 shillings. Irwin's life path from that moment was predetermined...

Joaquin Cortez: become a king, be the best

A native of the North American gypsies-Kale, a descendant of an artistic dynasty, Cortez was born in 1969 and until the age of 12 he gained life experience... in “street universities.” It is unknown what kind of “education” the boy would have received, in the end, if not for the intervention of his uncle, who literally persuaded his nephew to take up dancing. This was a turning point that ensured worldwide fame for the Spaniard.

Today he is the King of Flamenco, the “Dancing Aphrodosiac”, the author of a new language of modern rhythmic movements that millions strive to master. .

Ulyana Lopatkina: ballet as the meaning of life

The list of the best dancers in the world includes many wonderful representatives who have achieved true heights on an equal basis with men in different directions. Many of them, having once fallen into the magical shackles of ballet, remained forever its devoted prisoners. Ulyana Lopatkina is a significant name in contemporary art, which is confirmed by world-class awards, including the Golden Mask and Vaganova-Prix. Having taken her first steps into the world of dance in early childhood, Ulyana Lopatkina continues to tirelessly hone her skills, which she generously shares with young talents.

Benjamin Millepied

The talented French ballet dancer and choreographer began his career with the New York City Ballet and became its principal dancer. Throughout his busy career, he worked with famous choreographers, performing in famous productions such as “Swan Lake”, “The Four Seasons”, “The Sleeping Beauty”. At the same time, he began to try himself as a choreographer, which brought him great success. His productions are imbued with a sense of freedom, a sense of flight without restrictions and an endless love for music. He became famous in the world of cinema thanks to his participation in the film “Black Swan” as a choreographer and actor.

Michael Flatley

A world-famous American dancer and choreographer, born into a family of Irish immigrants. He became famous thanks to his participation in famous shows that demonstrated the national Irish dance to the whole world. The boy’s love for tap dancing was instilled in him by his mother and grandmother, who themselves were involved in dancing. As a child, Michael won many dance competitions, but finding a well-paying job proved difficult. He began his career as a backup dancer for popular Irish folk groups. His participation in the dance performance “Riverdance” brought him worldwide fame, where he demonstrated his uniqueness to the world, combining the rhythms of Irish folk dance and step dance.

A few years later, Flatley created his own theatrical dance performance, “Lord of the Dance,” where he himself played the main role. It differed from others in its colorful costumes, fascinating plot, but at the same time retained the atmosphere of Irish culture. Each year he continued to improve his show by adding new elements. This is how another, no less popular dance performance appeared - “Feet of Flames”. Thanks to him, the world saw all the beauty and versatility of the national dance of Ireland.

Mark Ballas

American dancer, successor to the dynasty of famous figures in the art of dance. Their dynasty includes: their grandmother danced Spanish dance - flamenco, parents Shirley and Corky Ballas are famous choreographers of Latin American dances. Mark began to learn dancing in his grandfather's dance studio, which at that time was considered the largest in the world. When Mark was 10 years old, he won a Latin American dance competition. This was followed by numerous victories at world championships and a victory at the Youth Olympics. He is also known for starring in major musicals such as Copacabana and Maria De Buenos Aires.

He, like many, did not ignore the project “Dancing with the Stars”, in the 5th season of which, together with his partner, he scored the maximum number of points.

Derek Hough

Hereditary American dancer, champion in Latin American dancing. His parents, who were themselves former ballroom dancers, sent him to study dance in London, where he began his career under the guidance of the famous choreographer parents of dancer Mark Ballas. And there, in London, together with his sister and Mark Ballas, they organized the trio “2B1G”, performing together on television shows.

His main achievements are considered to be victory at the sports ballroom dancing championship and victory in the “Outstanding Dancer of the Year” nomination.

Paula Abdul

The talented American began her creative career by participating in the support group of a basketball team and grew to the status of one of the best dancers and choreographers in the world. At one of the NBA championship games, the Jackson brothers noticed her and invited her to participate in their show. From that moment on, her successful career began as a choreographer for the famous musical shows of the Jackson brothers, and it was with them that she first choreographed a music video.

After her dizzying success, Paula began collaborating with many famous stars and choreographing dance numbers for Hollywood films. Her dance shows opened such a large-scale event as the Oscar ceremony.

In addition to dancing, Paula is known as a singer and producer. Many of her popular songs were at the top of the charts in the USA, Great Britain, Canada and other countries of the world. Participation in the American Idol project as a choreographer and jury member brought her additional popularity and financial well-being. Now she continues to work on new music albums, tries herself as a jewelry designer and has her own dance studio.

JabbaWockeeZ

A male dance group from America gained fame after participating in the “America’s Got Talent” project and winning a hip-hop competition. The peculiarity of their performance was that they performed in white masks and gloves, creating an aura of mystery around themselves and emphasizing the team spirit of the group. Thanks to this success, the guys were able to demonstrate their dance creativity on a world tour with Shaquille O'Neill, starring in video clips and films.

Karina Smirnoff

The road to success in ballroom dancing for this American with Ukrainian roots was very branchy: she studied ballet, figure skating, gymnastics, acrobatics, and only then found herself in ballroom dancing, becoming a multiple champion of world competitions and a five-time US champion. She is also known for her participation in television projects and reality shows such as Dancing with the Stars and Chelsea Lately.

Cheryl Burke

Another famous participant in the “Dancing with the Stars” project, Cheryl Burke, successfully combines her career as a dancer and choreographer. Her most famous production is considered to be the Christmas parade show for the Disney parks. Cheryl has opened several dance schools and has her own dance studio in San Francisco

iJustine

Justin Isarick, the star of video blogs, is not a professional dancer, but her performances have brought her wild popularity on the Internet. She makes videos on various topics, reflecting on life with humor. Through dancing she expresses her good mood and positive attitude towards life. These positive emotions and humor are liked by the audience, and bring her multi-million views on the Internet.

The best dancer - this title obliges, forcing you to constantly learn, develop and strive. This requires a special creative atmosphere, where everything will be subordinated to the main thing - perfection in movements. A good dance hall, a professional trainer, the support of loved ones, maximum desire - and the peaks are not as far as it seems...

The best dancers in the world continue to show off their talents, leaving us gasping in admiration. Every year new talented stars appear on the horizon of dance art.

National Opera of Ukraine Former names State Opera Theater named after. K. Liebknecht ... Wikipedia

Theater Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater Ukrainian. Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater ... Wikipedia

Coordinates: 51°49′58″ N. w. 107°34′59″ E. d. /  ... Wikipedia

Theater Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater Ukrainian. Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater View of the theater from Rish Street ... Wikipedia

Wikipedia has articles about other people with this surname, see Seleznev. Wikipedia has articles about other people named Seleznev, Alexander Vladimirovich. Alexander Vladimirovich Seleznev Occupation: ballet dancer, ballet teacher Date... ... Wikipedia

Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater- ODESSA OPERA AND BALLET THEATER, academic, opened in 1810. At first, dramatic plays were staged. and music performances, in which it is obligatory. part included ballet divertissements. Foreigners often performed at the theater. and Russian artists. In 1836 ballets were shown... ... Ballet. Encyclopedia

Coordinates: 40°21′59″ N. w. 49°5 ... Wikipedia

Tbilisi Academic Z. P. Paliashvili, the largest musical theater of the Georgian SSR. Founded in Tbilisi in 1851. Since 1896, performances have been staged in a new building (the so-called State Theater); the season opened with a production of the opera “Ivan Susanin”... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Opera and Ballet Theater named after S. M. Kirov- Opera and Ballet Theater named after S. M. Kirov. Opera and Ballet Theater named after S. M. Kirov. Saint Petersburg. Opera and Ballet Theater named after S. M. Kirov (Teatralnaya Square, 1), one of the oldest and leading musical theaters in the USSR. Compare History of origin... ... Encyclopedic reference book "St. Petersburg"

Books

• Tales of Ballet, Golzer N. Category: Culture and art Publisher: Children's Time,
• Tales of Ballet, N. Golzer, For the fabulous ballet world to come to life, the efforts of a variety of people are required each time. The main one is the composer: he creates music. The librettist composes a libretto - a brief plot basis for... Category: Art. Culture Series: Publisher:

Publications in the Theaters section

Modern Russian ballerinas. Top 5

The proposed five leading ballerinas include artists who began their careers in the main musical theaters of our country - the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi - in the 90s, when the situation in politics, and then in culture, was rapidly changing. The ballet theater became more open due to the expansion of the repertoire, the arrival of new choreographers, the emergence of additional opportunities in the West, and at the same time more demanding of performing skills.

This short list of stars of the new generation opens with Ulyana Lopatkina, who came to the Mariinsky Theater in 1991 and is now almost finishing her career. At the end of the list is Victoria Tereshkina, who also began working in the era of perestroika in ballet art. And right behind her comes the next generation of dancers, for whom the Soviet legacy is only one of many directions. These are Ekaterina Kondaurova, Ekaterina Krysanova, Olesya Novikova, Natalya Osipova, Oksana Kardash, but more about them another time.

Ulyana Lopatkina

Today's media call Natalia Dudinskaya's student Ulyana Lopatkina (born in 1973) a “style icon” of Russian ballet. There is a grain of truth in this catchy definition. She is the ideal Odette-Odile, the true “two-faced” heroine of “Swan Lake” in the coldly refined Soviet version by Konstantin Sergeev, who also managed to develop and convincingly embody on stage another swan image in Mikhail Fokine’s decadent miniature “The Dying Swan” by Camille Saint-Saëns. From these two works of hers, recorded on video, Lopatkina is recognized on the street by thousands of fans all over the world, and hundreds of young ballet students are trying to master the craft and unravel the mystery of transformation. The refined and sensual Swan is Ulyana, and for a long time, even when the new generation of dancers eclipses the brilliant galaxy of ballerinas of the 1990–2000s, Odetta-Lopatkina will bewitch. She was also unattainable, technically precise and expressive in “Raymond” by Alexander Glazunov, “The Legend of Love” by Arif Melikov. She would not have been called a “style icon” without her contribution to the ballets of George Balanchine, whose American heritage, imbued with the culture of the Russian Imperial Ballet, was mastered by the Mariinsky Theater when Lopatkina was at the very peak of her career (1999–2010). Her best roles, namely roles, not parts, since Lopatkina knows how to dramatically fill plotless compositions, were solo works in “Diamonds”, “Piano Concerto No. 2”, “Theme and Variations” to the music of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, “Waltz” by Maurice Ravel . The ballerina participated in all the avant-garde projects of the theater and, based on the results of collaboration with modern choreographers, will give a head start to many.

Ulyana Lopatkina in the choreographic miniature “The Dying Swan”

Documentary film “Ulyana Lopatkina, or Dancing on Weekdays and on Holidays”

Diana Vishneva

Second by birth, only three years younger than Lopatkina, student of the legendary Lyudmila Kovaleva Diana Vishneva (born in 1976), in reality she never “came” second, but only first. It so happened that Lopatkina, Vishneva and Zakharova, separated from each other by three years, walked side by side at the Mariinsky Theater, full of healthy rivalry and at the same time admiration for each other’s enormous, but completely different capabilities. Where Lopatkina reigned as the languid, graceful Swan, and Zakharova formed a new - urban - image of the romantic Giselle, Vishneva performed the function of the goddess of the wind. Having not yet graduated from the Academy of Russian Ballet, she already danced on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater Kitri, the main character in Don Quixote, and a few months later she showed her achievements in Moscow on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. And at the age of 20 she became a prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater, although many have to wait until they are 30 or more years old to be promoted to this status. At 18 (!), Vishneva tried on the role of Carmen in a number composed specially for her by Igor Belsky. In the late 90s, Vishneva was rightfully considered the best Juliet in Leonid Lavrovsky’s canonical version, and she also became the most graceful Manon Lescaut in Kenneth MacMillan’s ballet of the same name. Since the early 2000s, in parallel with St. Petersburg, where she participated in many productions of such choreographers as George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, William Forsythe, Alexei Ratmansky, Angelen Preljocaj, she began performing abroad as a guest etoile (“ballet star”). Now Vishneva often works in her own projects, commissioning ballets for herself from famous choreographers (John Neumeier, Alexei Ratmansky, Caroline Carlson, Moses Pendleton, Dwight Rhoden, Jean-Christophe Maillot). The ballerina regularly dances in premieres of Moscow theaters. Vishneva enjoyed enormous success in the Bolshoi Theater ballet choreographed by Mats Ek “The Apartment” (2013) and in John Neumeier’s play “Tatyana” based on “Eugene Onegin” by Alexander Pushkin at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Musical Theater in 2014. In 2013, she became one of the organizers of the November festival of contemporary dance Context, which since 2016 has been taking place not only in Moscow, but also in St. Petersburg.

Documentary film “Always on the move. Diana Vishneva"

Svetlana Zakharova

The youngest of the three famous chicks of the A. Vaganova Academy from the 90s, Svetlana Zakharova (born in 1979) instantly caught up with her rivals and in some ways surpassed them, acting like the once great Leningrad ballerinas Marina Semyonova and Galina Ulanova, “to serve” at the Moscow Bolshoi Theater in 2003. She had behind her her studies with the excellent ARB teacher Elena Evteeva, experience working with Olga Moiseeva, the star of the Kirov Ballet of the 70s, and a gigantic track record. In any of the performances of the St. Petersburg period, Zakharova stood out clearly. Her strong point, on the one hand, was the interpretation of heroines in ancient ballets by Marius Petipa, restored by Sergei Vikharev, and soloists in avant-garde productions by leading choreographers, on the other. In terms of natural data and “technical characteristics,” Zakharova not only surpassed her colleagues at the Mariinsky Theater and then at the Bolshoi, she entered the cohort of the most sought-after ballerinas in the world who dance everywhere in guest status. And the most important ballet company in Italy - La Scala Ballet - offered her a permanent contract in 2008. Zakharova at some point admitted that she danced “Swan Lake”, “La Bayadère” and “The Sleeping Beauty” in all possible stage versions from Hamburg to Paris and Milan. At the Bolshoi Theatre, shortly after Zakharova moved to Moscow, John Neumeier staged his program ballet A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the ballerina shone in it in the double role of Hippolyta-Titania opposite Nikolai Tsiskaridze's Oberon. She also took part in the production of “Lady with Camellias” by Neumeier at the Bolshoi. Zakharova successfully collaborates with Yuri Posokhov - she danced the premiere of his “Cinderella” at the Bolshoi Theater in 2006 and in 2015 she performed the role of Princess Mary in “A Hero of Our Time.”

Documentary film “Prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater Svetlana Zakharova. Revelation"

Maria Alexandrova

At the same time, when the triad of St. Petersburg dancers conquered Northern Palmyra, the star of Maria Alexandrova (born in 1978) rose in Moscow. Her career developed with a slight delay: when she came to the theater, ballerinas of the previous generation had finished their time dancing - Nina Ananiashvili, Nadezhda Gracheva, Galina Stepanenko. In the ballets with their participation, Alexandrova - bright, temperamental, even exotic - was in the supporting roles, but it was she who received all the experimental premieres of the theater. Critics saw the very young ballerina in Alexei Ratmansky’s ballet “Dreams of Japan”; soon she interpreted Catherine II in Boris Eifman’s ballet “Russian Hamlet” and others. And debuts in the main roles of such ballets as “Swan Lake”, “Sleeping Beauty” ", "Raymonda", "The Legend of Love", she waited patiently for years.

The year 2003 became fateful when Alexandrova was chosen as Juliet by the new wave choreographer Radu Poklitaru. It was an important performance that opened the way for new choreography (without pointe shoes, without classical positions) at the Bolshoi Theater, and Alexandrova held the revolutionary banner. In 2014, she repeated her success in another Shakespearean ballet - The Taming of the Shrew, choreographed by Mayo. In 2015, Alexandrova began collaborating with choreographer Vyacheslav Samodurov. He staged a ballet about the theater behind the scenes - “Curtain” in Yekaterinburg, and in the summer of 2016 he chose her for the role of Ondine in the ballet of the same name at the Bolshoi Theater. The ballerina managed to use the forced waiting time to hone the dramatic side of the role. The secret source of her creative energy aimed at acting does not dry out, and Alexandrova is always on alert.

Documentary film “Monologues about myself. Maria Alexandrova"

Victoria Tereshkina

Like Alexandrova at the Bolshoi, Victoria Tereshkina (born 1983) was in the shadow of the aforementioned trio of ballerinas. But she did not wait for anyone to retire; she began to energetically capture parallel spaces: she experimented with novice choreographers, did not get lost in the difficult ballets of William Forsythe (Approximate Sonata, for example). She often did what others did not undertake, or attempted, but could not cope with, but Tereshkina succeeded and is succeeding in absolutely everything. Her main strength was impeccable mastery of technique, helped by endurance and the presence of a reliable teacher nearby - Lyubov Kunakova. It is curious that, unlike Alexandrova, who went into the true drama that is only possible on the ballet stage, Tereshkina “focused” on improving technique and erected a triumphant plotlessness into a cult. Her favorite plot, which she always plays on stage, grows out of a sense of form.

Documentary film “The Royal Box. Victoria Tereshkina"

Ballet is called an integral part of the art of our country. Russian ballet is considered the most authoritative in the world, the standard. This review contains the success stories of five great Russian ballerinas who are still looked up to today.

Anna Pavlova

What is curious is that the aspiring ballerina was not placed in the corps de ballet, but immediately began to give her responsible roles in productions. Anna Pavlova danced under the direction of several choreographers, but the most successful and fruitful tandem, which had a fundamental influence on her performance style, was with Mikhail Fokin.

Galina Ulanova

After graduating from the choreographic technical school in 1928, Ulanova was accepted into the ballet troupe of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater. From the very first performances, the young ballerina attracted the attention of spectators and critics. A year later, Ulanova was entrusted with performing the leading role of Odette-Odile in Swan Lake. Giselle is considered one of the ballerina’s triumphant roles. Performing the scene of the heroine's madness, Galina Ulanova did it so soulfully and selflessly that even the men in the audience could not hold back their tears.

Galina Ulanova danced on stage until she was 50 years old. She was always strict and demanding of herself. Even in old age, the ballerina began every morning with classes and weighed 49 kg.

Olga Lepeshinskaya

Olga Lepeshinskaya easily coped with both classic ballet (“Swan Lake”, “Sleeping Beauty”) and modern productions (“Red Poppy”, “Flames of Paris”.) During the Great Patriotic War, Lepeshinskaya fearlessly performed at the front, raising the fighting soldier spirit.

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Olga Lepeshinskaya -
ballerina with a passionate temperament. | Photo: www.etoretro.ru.

Maya Plisetskaya

Aunt Plisetskaya was a ballerina at the Bolshoi Theater, so Maya also began attending choreography classes. The girl achieved great success in this field and after graduating from college she was accepted into the Bolshoi Theater troupe.

After the ballerina was fired from the Bolshoi Theater in 1990, she did not despair and continued to give solo performances. The overflowing energy allowed Plisetskaya to make her debut in the production of “Ave Maya” on her 70th birthday.

Lyudmila Semenyaka

Semenyaka coped with any part so naturally and effortlessly that from the outside it seemed as if she was not making any effort, but was simply enjoying the dance. In 1976, Lyudmila Ivanovna was awarded the Anna Pavlova Prize from the Paris Academy of Dance.

But he mastered the art of ballet in Russia, and spent most of his life performing in the USA.

The art of dance has been a universal form of self-expression since ancient times. Body language is understood by anyone in the world, which is why dancing is so popular. From ballet to modern dance, from hip-hop to salsa, from oriental dance to flamenco - in recent decades, dance as a high art has experienced a real flourishing.

But when it comes to individual dancers, it can be very difficult to choose just one as the best. If you are interested in dancing and the people who devoted their whole lives to it, then we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the list of the most famous and popular dancers of the 20th century.

10 Most Famous Dancers of the 20th Century

1. RUDOLF NURIEV

The artist was born in Russia and already at the age of twenty became a soloist of the Mariinsky Theater. In 1961, Nuriev asked for political asylum, allegedly in connection with his oppression by the authorities, and received it in France. Then the artist tours with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas.

Eyewitnesses say that Nureyev was amazingly charismatic, and his emotional performance in a duet with Fonteyn in Romeo and Juliet remains to this day one of the most powerful performances among duets in the history of ballet.

Unfortunately, Nureyev became one of the first victims of HIV and died of AIDS in 1993. Twenty years later, we are still enjoying the great legacy he left behind.

2. MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV

Mikhail Baryshnikov is one of the greatest ballet dancers of all time, considered by many critics to be the best. Before joining the Mariinsky Theater troupe in 1967, Baryshnikov studied ballet at the Leningrad Vaganova School. Since the beginning of his career at the Mariinsky Theater, Mikhail has taken leading roles in dozens of productions.

Baryshnikov played a key role in the emergence of ballet as part of popular culture in the late 1970s and early 80s, and he was the face of the art form for more than two decades.

Today Mikhail Baryshnikov is perhaps the most influential and famous dancer of our time.

3. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers - this great dancing couple is today in third place in the ranking of the most famous dancers of the 20th century. The couple was very harmonious, he gave her class, and she made him even more charismatic. Their performances were accessible to the widest masses, and the public responded to them with sincere love.

The heyday of Astaire and Rogers' careers came during the Great Depression, and the timing was extremely fortunate: many Americans at that time were struggling to make ends meet, and the couple's fiery dancing allowed them to at least briefly escape reality and have fun.

4. JOAQUIN CORTEZ

Joaquin Cortez is the youngest among the dancers presented on our list. Although he has not yet finished his career and may not have danced his most famous dance, Cortez is one of the few dancers in history to earn the title of sex symbol and is wildly popular among both women and men. Madonna and Jennifer Lopez claim to adore him, while Naomi Campbell and Mira Sorvino join the ranks of women whose hearts he broke.

It's safe to say that Joaquin Cortez is one of the greatest flamenco dancers in the world. Among his male admirers are Tarantino, Armani, Al Pacino, Banderas and Sting. Fans call him the god of flamenco, and if you watch even one recording of his performance, you will understand why. At the age of forty-four, Cortez is still alone; he once declared: “Dancing is my wife, my only woman.”

5. MICHAEL JACKSON

Michael Jackson was the man who made dancing an important element of modern pop music. Most modern pop stars, such as Justin Bieber, Usher, Justin Timberlake, have admitted that at different times they were greatly influenced by the style of Michael Jackson.

His contribution to dance is enormous. Jackson was an innovator who created new dance moves on his own. His natural grace, flexibility and sense of rhythm contributed to the emergence of the signature "Jackson style". His colleagues called him a “sponge” for his ability to search and find new ideas and techniques wherever he was.

Jackson looked for inspiration in the works of James Brown, Marcelle Marceau, Gene Kelly and, no matter how strange it may sound, in the performances of classical ballet dancers. Michael Jackson's originality and unique style brought him fame, and today he stands alongside other giants of popular music such as Elvis and the Beatles.

6. SYLVIE GUILLEM

At forty-eight years old, Sylvie Guillem continues to be one of the most popular ballerinas in the world. Guillem has changed the face of ballet, her performances go beyond its classical boundaries.

Instead of building a classical career as a ballerina, Guillem made a bold choice, equally participating in productions of the Paris Opera and in the projects of William Forsythe. Along with Maria Callas in the opera world, Sylvie Guillem again shaped the popular image of a ballerina.

7. GENE KELLY

Gene Kelly was one of the most famous stars of Hollywood musicals. Kelly's numbers harmoniously combined ballet elements and modern dance movements - it was his own unique style. Kelly brought new dance trends to theatrical productions.

Kelly's legacy is his music video, recognized and loved around the world. More than one generation of American dancers has found something of their own in his movements and style.

8. JOSEPHINE BAKER

Although Josephine Baker's name is primarily associated with the heyday of jazz music - the Golden Age of Jazz, her influence on emerging and contemporary stars remains great.

Josephine Baker is one of the first stars of African descent. She arrived in Paris in 1925 and literally captivated the public with her combination of exotic charm and talent. Josephine performed at the Folies Bergere, and this was a good start to her career. In France, the artist did not feel as widespread racial prejudice as it was in the United States at that time.

At the end of her life, Josephine returned to the stage. She died in 1975 from a cerebral hemorrhage.

9. MARTHA GRAHAM

Martha Graham is considered the mother of modern dance. She created more than one hundred and fifty unique choreographic numbers and had a huge influence on all areas of modern dance.

Her technique differs from the classical one, and movements such as compression, release and spiral are her own invention. Graham went even further and created a “language of movement” based on the expressive capabilities of the human body.

10. VACLAV NIJINSKY

Vaslav Nijinsky was one of the most talented ballet dancers in history. Unfortunately, there are no recordings of his performance left, so it is currently impossible to appreciate his incredible talent.

Nijinsky was known for his amazing ability to defy gravity, which was embodied in his magnificent leaps. Vaclav was the partner of the legendary Anna Pavlova.

Nijinsky left the stage in 1919 at the age of twenty-nine. He was sick with schizophrenia and frequent nervous breakdowns did not allow him to continue working. The artist spent the last years of his life in psychiatric hospitals and shelters.