André Prokovsky (1939–2009). French-born dancer, choreographer and director of Russian parentage

In Paris, André Prokovsky studied under Nicholas Zvereff, Lubov Egorova, Serge Peretti and Nora Kiss, and made his stage debut at the Comédie Française in 1954 before dancing with the companies of Janine Charrat and Roland Petit. Prokovsky won a silver medal at the Moscow Youth Festival in 1957 and was then invited by Anton Dolin to join London Festival (now English National) Ballet where he became a principal dancer at the age of 20. Prokovsky danced with London Festival Ballet until 1960, most notably in Harald Lander’s Etudes and Anton Dolin’s Variations for Four, and then performed with the Marquis de Cuevas company before joining New York City Ballet as a principal in 1963. For George Balanchine, he created roles in Pas de Deux and Divertissement and Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet. Prokovsky later returned to dance with London Festival Ballet in 1966, most notably in partnership with Galina Samsova, who became his first wife in 1972. The couple formed their own small-scale company, New London Ballet, in 1971, which continued to tour the UK and abroad until 1979, and where Prokovsky made most of the choreography. He then became director of the Rome Opera Ballet, before devoting himself to choreography, creating productions such as Anna Karenina, The Three Musketeers, Doctor Zhivago, Romeo and Juliet, La traviata, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. André Prokovsky died in 2009.