Aleksandr Gorski

Aleksandr Gorski

Choreographer

Russian Aleksandr Gorski (1871-1924) received his dance training at the Imperial Ballet School in St Petersburg, where he was taught by Marius Petipa, among others. Gorski choreographed a large number of ballets, but he became best known for the new productions he created of Petipa's works. For instance, his versions of Don Quixote - for the Bolshoi Ballet and the Marijinsky Ballet, respectively, released in 1900 and 1902 - formed the starting point for many later versions of the ballet. Some ballets that Gorski created himself include Gudules daughter (a revision of La Esmeralda), Salammbo, Etudes, Dances of the Nations, Eunice and Petronius and Love is fleeting!

In 1902, Gorksi was appointed director of the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. During this engagement, which was to last more than 20 years, he revitalised the Russian ballet company by enriching the group's repertoire with new ballets and infusing existing ballet productions with greater dramatic expression. For, in Gorski's eyes, acting skills were even more important than virtuoso technique.