Concerto Barocco by State Ballet of Georgia, George Balanchine

Concerto Barocco by State Ballet of Georgia. Music by Johann Sebastian Bach, choreography by George Balanchine. Balanchine one act ballet evening, State Ballet of Georgia at Johvi International Ballet Festival 2017, shot on 6.5.2017.

George Balanchine (1904 – 1983) born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, son of Georgian opera singer and composer Meliton Balanchivadze, one of the founders of the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre and later the culture minister of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. Styled as the father of American ballet, he co-founded the New York City Ballet and remained its Artistic Director for more than 35 years. Balanchine took the standards and technique from his time at the Imperial Ballet School and fused it with other schools of movement that he had adopted during his tenure on Broadway and in Hollywood, creating his signature “neoclassical style”. He was a choreographer known for his musicality; he expressed music with dance and worked extensively with leading composers of his time like Igor Stravinsky. Balanchine was invited to America in 1933 by a young arts patron named Lincoln Kirstein, and together they founded the School of American Ballet. Along with Kirstein, Balanchine also co-founded the New York City Ballet (NYCB).

Photos by Jack Devant Ballet Photography with kind permission of the State Ballet of Georgia and Jõhvi Ballet Festival, special thanks to Piia Tamm.