People’s Artist of the USSR, choreographer of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, President of the International Federation of Ballet Competitions, Hero of Socialist Labor, Laureate of the Lenin Prize and State Prize of the USSR, academician, professor.
An outstanding Russian choreographer and a graduate of the St. Petersburg school of classical ballet, Yuri Grigorovich began his career as a soloist with the Kirov Theatre of Opera and Ballet (now Mariinsky Theatre) in Leningrad. It was there that he presented his first choreographic works — The Stone Flower by S. Prokofiev (1957) and The Legend of Love by A. Melikov (1959).
From 1964 to 1995, he served as Chief Ballet Master of the Bolshoi Theatre of the USSR, a period that marked the artistic zenith of the company and earned it worldwide acclaim. Under his direction, the Bolshoi Ballet toured internationally more than 90 times, introducing global audiences to a brilliant generation of Russian dancers. In Moscow, Grigorovich created a number of legendary ballets that brought him international fame, including: The Nutcracker by P. Tchaikovsky (1966), Spartacus by A. Khachaturian (1968), Ivan the Terrible to music by S. Prokofiev (1975), Angara by A. Eshpai (1976), Romeo and Juliet by S. Prokofiev (1979, 2010), The Golden Age by D. Shostakovich (1982, 2006). He also staged new choreographic interpretations of classical masterpieces for the Bolshoi Theatre, including: The Sleeping Beauty (1963, 1973), Swan Lake (1969, 2001), Raymonda by A. Glazunov (1984, 2003), La Bayadère and Don Quixote by L. Minkus (1991, 1994), Giselle and Le Corsaire by A. Adam (1987, 1994).
Yuri Grigorovich also presented productions at major theatres in Stockholm, Rome, Paris, Copenhagen, Vienna, Milan, Helsinki, Ankara, Prague, Sofia, Genoa, Warsaw, Istanbul, Seoul, and others.
In 1995, he founded the Yuri Grigorovich Ballet Theatre, based in Krasnodar, which has since toured extensively across the globe. Since 2008, he has served as a choreographer for the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia.
For many years, he chaired the juries of international ballet competitions in Russia, Japan, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Italy, Finland, the United States, Switzerland, Austria, Turkey, China, and others. He also led the jury for the Benois de la Danse Prize. In 2005, he was elected President of the newly formed International Federation of Ballet Competitions. He also serves as President of the International Union of Choreography Professionals. Yuri Grigorovich has been honored with numerous state awards, artistic prizes, and recognitions in the field of arts and culture from countries around the world.