Ivan Novikoff (August 26, 1899 – March 20, 2002) was a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

master. Born in

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

, Russia, Novikoff studied and graduated from the Imperial Ballet School aka Mariinsky. He fled to

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

, China because of the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

at age 17, where he taught dance for the community of Russians. In 1923, he immigrated to the United States, where he continued teaching ballet until his death. After arriving in San Francisco, Novikoff moved to New York City, where Novikoff and his brother Boris Novikoff together directed Metropolitan Opera Ballet Company. Moving westwards to Seattle, he founded the Novikoff School of Russian-American Ballet in the early 1950s and received the Governor's Heritage Award (of the state of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

) in 1989. Novikoff followed in the footsteps of his lifetime inspiration Michael Forkin in pure Classic Russian Artistry. Among his students in Seattle were

Robert Joffrey Robert Joffrey (December 24, 1930 – March 25, 1988) was an American dancer, teacher, producer, choreographer, and co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets. He was born Anver Bey Abdullah Jaffa Khan in Se ...

and

Gerald Arpino Gerald Arpino (January 14, 1923 – October 29, 2008) was an American dancer and choreographer. He was the co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet and succeeded Robert Joffrey as its artistic director in 1988. Life and career Born on Staten Island, ...

.Ibid. Page 37.
/ref> Leona Wood, the founder of Aman Folk Ensemble, Richard Ingram, one of the choreographers of Royal Ballet and Mark Morris the director of Mark Morris Company, Erricka Shebass, a former principal dancer of Oakland Ballet Company.

References

External links

Ivan F. Novikoff
from Seattle, WA Governors Awards, 1989 1899 births 2002 deaths People from Kazan Ballet masters Russian ballet Russian men centenarians White Russian emigrants to the United States {{Russia-bio-stub