Sergei Gustavovich Legat was born on 27 September 1875, in
Moscow. The younger brother of
Nikolai Legat, he studied at the imperial ballet school with
Pavel Gerdt,
Christian Johansson,
Lev Ivanov and his brother. Legat joined the
Mariinsky Theatre in 1894 and quickly became a soloist. Admired for his stylistic performances he also taught, with pupils including
Vaslav Nijinsky. Legat originated the dual role of the Nutcracker/Prince in
Tchaikovsky's famous ballet. He married
Marie Petipa (1857–1930). Many of the male
variations that make up the traditional classical ballet repertory were created especially for him at the turn of the 20th century. == Death ==