George Balanchine, born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Russia (1904-1983), was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States and the co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet. He was a choreographer known for his musicality; he expressed music with dance and worked extensively with Igor Stravinsky. 39 of his more than 400 ballets were choreographed to music by Stravinsky. At nine he was accepted into the Imperial Ballet School.
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