Leonid Kozlov (born February 6, 1947 in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a former principal dancer of the Bolshoi and New York City Ballet. He is also a

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 ...

, the founder and owner of Kozlov Dance International (KDI) and Youth Dance Festival of New Jersey.

Biography

Kozlov started his dance career by training at the

Bolshoi Ballet School The Moscow State Academy of Choreography (russian: Московская государственная академия хореографии), commonly known as The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious schools of ball ...

at age 12.Mary Vespa
Ballet's Kozlovs Leapt from the Bolshoi Straight into the Arms of a Suburban Mortgage
''People Magazine'', November 03, 1980 - accessed May 2, 2009 He later joined the Bolshoi company and became a principal dancer with performances in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Don Quixote'', ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...

'', '' Le Corsaire'', '' The Stone Flower'', '' Spartacus'', '' The Sleeping Beauty'', and '' La Bayadère''.About Leonid Kozlov
, ''dancearuba.com'' - accessed May 2, 2009 Kozlov met his former wife, Valentina Kozlova - an apprentice, in 1973 at the ballet Paquita during Bolshoi's tour in America. They married later that year. He and Kozlova decided to defect together on September 16, 1979, when they walked out of a garage door at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. After asylum was granted on September 17, 1979, they started their career in the United States as guest artists by performing in Britain, South America,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and across

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. With those international tours, Kozlov had opportunities to work with famous choreographers including

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

, Jerome Robbins, George Abbott, Glen Tetley, and Alvin Ailey. Kozlov staged his first Nutcracker production for the Australian Ballet at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

in 1981. The following year, he choreographed the Australian Ballet's first commissioned Nutcracker, premiered at the Palais Theatre on October 8, 1982. He also staged other productions: ''

'' and '' Don Quixote'' for National Ballet of Chile; and for New Jersey Ballet. Kozlov had an opportunity to star in the national previews of the Broadway revival of Roger & Hart’s On Your Toes in 1983. He was then invited by Balanchine to become New York City Ballet's principal dancer. He was with NYCB for eleven years with his repertoire of over 30 ballets. On March 1, 1991, Kozlov performed in Moscow again for the first time after his defection as part of ''Stars of American Ballet'' by American choreographers and dancers from New York City Ballet, New Jersey Ballet, and Paul Taylor Dance Company in the 6,000-seat theater at the Kremlin Palace of Congresses. Currently, Kozlov is an Artistic Advisor to New Jersey Ballet and director of Kozlov Dance International.

Kozlov Dance International

While Kozlov was a principal dancer of New York City Ballet, he also founded Kozlov Dance International (KDI) in 1991 based in Ridgewood, New Jersey. The missions of the company are to develop students into a professional level and to bring awareness of art and culture to local communities. KDI's repertory includes, '' The Nutcracker'', ''

'' (Act II), '' Don Quixote'', ''

'' (Act II), '' Paquita'', '' The Firebird'', '' La Vivandiere'', '' Chopiniana'', '' Pas de Quatre'', and Kozlov's original works. Kozlov staged the ''Nutcracker'' production for the first time in

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

in 2008. He also has an academy. Kozlov also founded Youth Dance Festival of New Jersey in 2005. It is an annual dance competition in classical ballet,

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in ...

, jazz, folk dance and Irish step dance for dancers aged 9–21 with participation from more than 150 dance schools.Kozlov Dance International's Tri-State Youth Dance Festival
''Dancer Universe'', September 1, 2005 - accessed May 2, 2009

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kozlov, Leonid American male ballet dancers American choreographers Soviet emigrants to the United States American people of Russian descent Living people New York City Ballet principal dancers 1947 births Dance in New Jersey