At the age of 98, Soviet and Russian choreographer Yuri Grigorovich has passed away. As reported by TASS, this information was confirmed by his assistant Alexander Kolesnikov.
"Yuri Nikolaevich died just short of his 99th birthday," Kolesnikov stated, without specifying the circumstances of his death.
Grigorovich made history as one of the greatest choreographers of the 20th century. He led the ballet company of the Bolshoi Theatre for over thirty years—from 1964 to 1995—and in 2008, he was appointed resident choreographer. Earlier, from 1947 to 1957, he danced at the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theatre in Leningrad, and from 1961 to 1964, he directed its ballet troupe.
The master created eight original ballet productions and nearly all the staged versions of classical performances that now form the core repertoire of the Bolshoi Theatre.