Mikhail Baryshnikov

Baryshnikov, Mikhail (1948–), Soviet-born U.S. dancer and choreographer. He was a soloist with the Kirov Ballet, Leningrad, from 1966 until 1974, when he defected to the West, joining the American Ballet Theatre and appearing there and with other companies in modern and classical ballets. He served as director of the American Ballet Theatre 1980–89. In Philadelphia he began his own company (the White Oak Dance Project).