George Balanchine

George Balanchine, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet. He was a choreographer known for his musicality; he expressed music with dance and worked extensively with Igor Stravinsky. Thirty-nine of his 400 ballets were choreographed to music by Stravinsky. Balanchine's family was composed largely of composers and soldiers. His father was the noted Georgian composer Meliton Balanchivadze (1862-1937), was one of the initiators of the Georgian Opera. George's brother, Andria Balanchivadze (1906-1992), became a well-known Georgian composer.