Grigorovich was born in
Leningrad on 2 January 1927 to a family connected with the
Imperial Russian Ballet; his uncle Georgy Rozai had been a pupil of
Vaslav Nijinsky and dancer with the
Mariinsky Theatre and the
Ballet Russes. He graduated from the
Leningrad Choreographic School in 1946 He created eight new ballets, often with Virsaladze as scenic designer, and versions of
classical ballets, the basis of the Bolshoi repertoire. His most famous productions there were full-length
narrative ballets: Tchaikovsky's
The Nutcracker in 1966, Khachaturian's
Spartacus in 1967, and
Ivan the Terrible in 1975. His choreography of
The Nutcracker was performed at the
Vienna State Opera 125 times between 1973 and 1997. Grigorovich choreographed Prokofiev's
Romeo and Juliet in 1979, and Shostakovich's
The Golden Age. He controversially reworked
Swan Lake to produce a happy end for the story in 1984. In 1995, he was accused of having allowed the theatre to plunge into stagnation and after many a squabble was ousted from office. including the
Prix Benois de la Danse In Moscow, Grigorovich met ballerina
Natalia Bessmertnova, who danced the main roles in the ballets he choreographed. on the same day as one of his fellow ballet dancers and collaborators,
Yuri Vladimirov. == Awards and honours ==