Yuri Soloviev

Ballet Dancer, Film actor

1940 – 1977

70

Who was Yuri Soloviev?

Yuri Vladimirovich Soloviev was a premier danseur of the Kirov Ballet, born in Leningrad, Russia. He was a contemporary of Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov, partner of Natalia Makarova, Alla Sizova, and others.

He began his ballet training at 9 years old and, for the last 4 years of his schooling, was a student of Boris Shavrov. He was in the same graduating class at the Vaganova Academy as Rudolf Nureyev. Initially, Soloviev joined the Kirov as a corps member but quickly rose to the rank of soloist. He was Rudolf Nureyev's roommate during the company's tour to Paris when that dancer defected to the west during which Soloviev also received rave reviews from the French and British dance critics. In later years Nureyev would often express admiration for Soloviev's dancing, despite their rivalry.

He was known as Cosmic Yuri by Western and Soviet audiences for his soaring leaps and Slavic-featured resemblance to Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. He was compared to Vaslav Nijinsky for his technique, particularly his elevation. In 1961 and 1964, he toured the US and Europe with the Kirov Ballet. His most famous roles were the Bluebird and Prince in The Sleeping Beauty and Solor in La Bayadère. He also originated roles in new ballets including Icarus in the ballet of the same name, "God" in The Creation of the World, the Young Man in Leningrad Symphony and the Man in Konstantin Sergeyev's The Distant Planet.

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Born
1940
Russia
Nationality
  • Russia
Profession
Education
  • Vaganova Ballet Academy
Died
1977

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

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