How Did George Balanchine Influence Ballet

George Balanchine, born January 22, 1904, in St. Petersburg, Russia; is considered the father of American ballet, and the greatest ballet choreographer of his time. Through his 79 years of life, he is said to have created some 465 works, beginning in 1920, at the young age of 16. It is no secret, that as the co-founder of the New York City Ballet, that Balanchine has greatly influenced the world of ballet, its masters, choreographers, dancers, and viewers. The start of George’s interest in music and ballet stemmed from being the son of a composer. Balanchine started his piano studies at the age of five, was accepted into the ballet section of the Imperial Theater School, in St. Petersburg, at the age of nine. While dancing, Balanchine studied piano and music theory at the Petrograd Conservatory of Music, enrolling sometime during 1919-1921. It was during this time that Balanchine learned imortant skills that would later help him communicate with composers, as a choreographer, and connect the worlds of dance and music. He began to choreograph in his teens, and created his first work, La Nuit, at age 16. It was during this time, of the

Warburg. This school is still in operation today, and trains young dancers for the NYC Ballet, and other companies worldwide. The first performance put on by the school premiered outdoors in White Plains, NY, and within a year, Balanchine created a professional company: the American Ballet. Unfortunately, the tour collapsed after a few perforamnces, however the troupe remained together as the resident ballet company for the Met Opera. With great success, came disagreements between Balanchine and the Met, as the Met had no interest in furthering ballet, and Balanchine had no interest in choreographing opera dances. After tension, the American Ballet’s Met association ended in