Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov, born January 27, 1948, nicknamed “Misha”, is a Russian dancer, choreographer, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers in history.
After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974 for more opportunities in western dance. After freelancing with many companies, he joined the New York City Ballet as a principal dancer to learn George Balanchine’s style of movement. He then danced with the American Ballet Theater, where he later became artistic director.
Baryshnikov has spearheaded many of his own artistic projects and has been associated in particular with promoting modern dance, premiering dozens of new works, including many of his own. His success as a dramatic actor on stage, cinema and television has helped him become probably the most widely recognized contemporary ballet dancer. In 1977, he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe nomination for his work as “Yuri Kopeikine” in the film The Turning Point. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1999. In 2000, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.
Baryshnikov made his American television debut in 1976 on the PBS program In Performance Live from Wolf Trap. During the Christmas season of 1977, CBS brought his highly acclaimed American Ballet Theater production of Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet The Nutcracker to television. It has remained to this day the most popular and most often shown television production of the work.