George Balanchine

George Balanchine (born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze, 1904 to 1983) was a Russian-American ballet choreographer of Georgian descent, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers of the twentieth century and styled the father of American ballet. Born in St. Petersburg and trained at the Imperial Ballet School, he fused that classical technique with movement he absorbed on Broadway and in Hollywood to create a signature neoclassical style marked by plotless ballets with minimal costume and decor, performed to classical and neoclassical music, often in close collaboration with composers such as Igor Stravinsky. Invited to America in 1933 by the arts patron Lincoln Kirstein, he co-founded the School of American Ballet in 1934 and the New York City Ballet in 1948, remaining its artistic director for more than 35 years.