Valery Panov
Encyclopedia
Early career
Valery Panov was born in 1938 in VitebskVitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. He studied in the choreographic school named for Agripinna Vaganova in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. Today it’s The Academy of Russian Ballet. He went on to the Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
Ballet School, and the Leningrad Ballet School, graduating in 1957.
He danced with the Maly Ballet in Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
(1957–64), where he created roles in Lopukhov's Ballad of Love (1959), in Davitashvili's Daphnis and Chloe (1960) and Bolero (1960), and in Boyarsky's Petrushka (1961), Orpheus (title role, 1962), and The Lady and the Hooligan (1962). In 1964 he joined the Kirov
Kirov
-People:*Nikolay Kirov , Soviet track and field athlete*Sergey Kirov , Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet communist-Things named after Sergey Kirov:*Kirov Plant, St. Petersburg, Russia...
, where he remained until 1972. There he created roles in Jacobson's Land of Miracles (1967), Vinogradov's Gorianka (1968), Sergeyev's Hamlet (title role, 1970), and Kasatkina's and Vasiliov's Creation of the World (1971).
Political problems
Although one of the greatest dancers in RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, for political reasons Panov came to international attention when, in 1972, he and his second wife, the Kirov ballerina Galina Ragozina, applied for exit visas to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. The Panovs were expelled from the Kirov, imprisoned briefly and forbidden from taking class for two years.
They became an international cause. Many artists in the West (including Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
) appealed to the authorities on their behalf. Finally, in 1974, the Panovs were allowed to leave Russia. They settled in Israel, although they made frequent guest appearances abroad as a couple. In Israel the Panovs danced with Batsheva Dance Company and Bat-Dor Company from 1974-7.
Choreographer
Panov was guest choreographer and principal dancer with the BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
Opera Ballet between 1977 and 1983. There he choreographed several ballets, including Cinderella, Sacre du printemps, The Idiot, and War and Peace. He also staged Heart of the Mountain for the San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet
The San Francisco Ballet is a ballet company, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. SFB is the first professional ballet company in the United States...
(1976), Scheherazade and Petrushka for Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
Ballet (1981), The Three Sisters for the Royal Swedish Ballet
Royal Swedish Ballet
The Royal Swedish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in Europe. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, King Gustav III founded the ballet in 1773 as a part of his national cultural project in response to the French and Italian dominance in this field; he also founded the Royal Swedish Opera and the...
(1983), and Hamlet to music by Shostakovich for the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
National Ballet (1984).
He was artistic director of the Royal Ballet of Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
from 1984-6, for whom he staged Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
and Moves. In 1988 he created Cléopâtre for the Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
Devlet Ballet, using a cast of 200. From 1991 he was ballet director of the State Opera in Bonn, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
where he created Dreyfus
Dreyfus
Dreyfus may refer to:* The Dreyfus affair, a French political scandal* Dreyfus, a 1930 German film on the Dreyfus affair* Louis Dreyfus Group, a company* Dreyfus Corporation, a Mellon Financial Corporation subsidiary...
—J'accuse.
In 1993 he founded in the Aschdod, Israel Art Centre, a Ballet troupe affiliated with Ballet Academy.
Honors
Valery Panov was awarded the Lenin PrizeLenin Prize
The Lenin Prize was one of the most prestigious awards of the USSR, presented to individuals for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was created on June 23, 1925 and was awarded until 1934. During the period from 1935 to 1956, the Lenin Prize was...
(1969).
He is an honorary citizen of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and San Francisco.