Mikko Nissinen (born March 4, 1962) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

dancer. He has danced with the

Dutch National Ballet The Dutch National Ballet (Dutch: Het Nationale Ballet) is the official and largest ballet company in the Netherlands. History The Dutch National Ballet was formed in 1961 when the Amsterdam Ballet and the Nederlands Ballet merged. The company h ...

and

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...

. He is the Artistic Director of Boston Ballet, a position he has held since 2002. Born and raised in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, Nissinen started his training at age ten with the Finnish National Ballet School, continuing his studies at the

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 ...

School. His primary teachers were Jacobson, Damianov, Sokolov, and Teräsvuori. In 1978, he won First Prize at The National Ballet Competition in Kuopio,

. Launching his professional dance career at the age of fifteen, Nissinen went on to perform with the

, Basel Ballet and

, where he was

Principal Dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, p ...

for nine years. After retiring from his performing career, he was Artistic Director for Marin Ballet and

Alberta Ballet Alberta Ballet (also known as the Alberta Ballet Company) was founded by Muriel Taylor and Dr. Ruth Carse in 1958 and became a professional company in 1966. The company is a resident company of both the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmo ...

before coming to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

References

Sparrow, Lori Smith. ''Voice of Dance'' July 1998.
Fanger, Iris. ''Dance Magazine'' Jan 2003.

External links

Boston Ballet website bio.
1962 births Living people Finnish male ballet dancers San Francisco Ballet principal dancers Finnish expatriates in the United States 20th-century ballet dancers 21st-century ballet dancers {{Finland-bio-stub