Igor Dmitrievich Belsky (russian: Игорь Дмитриевич Бельский; 28 March 1925,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia – 3 July 1999, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian ballet dancer and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

. After 20 years of solo work (1942–62) he became a chief choreographer of Maly Theatre (1962–73), artistic director of

Kirov Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet (russian: Балет Мариинского театра) is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russ ...

(1973–77), artistic director of Cairo Ballet (1977–78), chief ballet master at the Leningrad Music Hall (1979–92), and artistic director of the

Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet The Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet is a school of classical ballet in St Petersburg, Russia. Established in 1738 during the reign of Empress Anna, the academy was known as the Imperial Ballet School until the Soviet era, when, after a brief hi ...

Biography

Belsky got his passion to ballet from his parents, famous vaudeville dancers. While still studying at the Vaganova Academy, in 1942, he was allowed to perform with the

due to the lack of male dancers during World War II. In the 1950s he continued his studies at the

Russian Academy of Theatre Arts The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) (russian: Российский институт театрального искусства – ГИТИС) is the largest and oldest independent drama school, theatrical arts school in Russia. Locat ...

. During his solo career he sought roles that required personality and acting gifts, such as the lead in '' Shuraleh'' by

Leonid Yakobson Leonid Veniaminovich Yakobson (russian: Леонид Вениаминович Якобсон; January 2 (15), 1904 — October 17, 1975), whose last name is sometimes spelled Jacobson, was a Jewish ballet choreographer from Russia ...

(1950) and Negro Mako in '' The Path of Thunder'' by

Konstantin Sergeyev Konstantin Mikhaylovich Sergeyev (russian: Константин Михайлович Сергеев; 5 March 1910 (20 February Old Style) – 1 April 1992) was a Russian danseur, artistic director and choreographer for the Kirov Theatre. When the ...

(1958).Nadine Meisner (17 July 1999
Obituary: Igor Belsky
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. In 1959, while still dancing, he choreographed the two-act ''The Coast of Hope'' at the Kirov Ballet. This work was characterized by a simple and clear style, lacking a clutter of props characteristic of the time; it became a great success, launching his directing career. Shortly after becoming chief choreographer of

Maly Theatre The Maly Theatre, or Mali Theatre, may refer to one of several different theatres: * The Maly Theatre (Moscow), also known as The State Academic Maly Theatre of Russia, in Moscow (founded in 1756 and given its own building in 1824) * The Maly Thea ...

in Saint Petersburg he retired from dancing. At Maly he choreographed '' The Hump-Backed Horse'' (1963, scored by

Rodion Shchedrin Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin ( rus, Родион Константинович Щедрин, , rədʲɪˈon kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ɕːɪˈdrʲin; born 16 December 1932) is a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist, winner of USSR State ...

), ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'' (1965), '' Eleventh Symphony'' (1966, scored by

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

), ''

The Gadfly ''The Gadfly'' is a novel by Irish-born British writer Ethel Voynich, published in 1897 (United States, June; Great Britain, September of the same year), set in 1840s Italy under the dominance of Austria, a time of tumultuous revolt and upris ...

'' (1967) and ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

'' (1969).Jennifer Dunning (12 July 1999
Igor Belsky, 74, Dancer, Choreographer and Former Director of Kirov
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Disappointed with the Maly's preference for lyrical-comedy ballets, he returned to Kirov Ballet to focus on more epic themes. In 1973 he became artistic director and in 1974 choreographed ''Icarus''. After briefly heading the Cairo Ballet in 1977–78 he worked as the chief ballet master at the Leningrad Music Hall (1979–92) and then as the artistic director of the Vaganova Ballet Academy.Igor Belsky
oxfordindex.oup.com In parallel, Belsky had a long career as a teacher, which started with character dance in 1946 at the Vaganova School and continued from 1966 at the

St. Petersburg Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...

. He died of a stroke, aged 74. He was survived by his wife, Lyudmila Alekseyeva, a solo dancer from the Kirov Ballet, and a son Nikita.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belsky, Igor 1925 births 1999 deaths Russian male ballet dancers Dancers from Saint Petersburg 20th-century Russian ballet dancers