A brief biography on George Balanchine by a student in my high school dance class

1. GEORGE
BALANCHINE
(1904-1983)

2. PERSONAL LIFE
 Born in St. Petersburg, Russia,
 He was a son of a composer.
- This knowledge of music early, gave him an advantage over his fellow
choreographers.
 He began piano lessons at five, while continuing to dance. Such extensive
musical training made it possible for Balanchine as a choreographer to
communicate with a composer of the stature of Stravinsky; it also gave him the
ability to make piano reductions of orchestral scores, an invaluable aid in
translating music into dance.

3. HIS LEGACY
 He co-founded and was the head of the School of American
Ballet in New York City
 He co-founded the New York City Ballet which is one of the
prominent dance companies today
 He brought up the standard of American ballet by emphasizing
balance, control, precision, and ease of movement.

4. VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zafvq
N2cHIA

5. QUOTES
 “I don't want people who want to dance; I want people who have
to dance”
 “See the music, hear the dance.”
 “Dancing is music made visible.”
 “Dancers are instruments, like a piano the choreographer plays.”
 “Most ballet teachers in the United States are terrible. If they were
in medicine, everyone would be poisoned.”

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 http://www.balanchine.org/balanchine/01/bio2.html
 http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ba-Be/Balanchine-
George.html#b
 http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/5991.George_
Balanchine?auto_login_attempted=true