awards for arts achievement

A native of Riga, Latvia, Mikhail Baryshnikov began studying ballet at age nine. He danced with the Kirov Ballet for five years, earning acclaim for his technical brilliance, gravity-defying leaps, and dramatic interpretations of classical roles. In 1974, he settled in New York City as a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), where his virtuosity and genius awed ballet fans around the world.

In 1979, Baryshnikov moved to New York City Ballet to work with master choreographer George Balanchine. There he broadened his repertoire, learning more than 20 roles in 15 months. In 1980, he returned to ABT, serving for 10 years as artistic director, nurturing a new generation of dancers and choreographers, and staging and choreographing four full-length ballets.

Baryshnikov has danced more than 100 works, from Giselle and Don Quixote to Twyla Tharp's Push Comes to Shove and Balanchine's Apollo. He has been a leading guest artist on the world's greatest ballet stages. In addition to dancing, Baryshnikov proved himself a capable actor, starring in five films, including his Oscar-nominated performance in The Turning Point. He has appeared numerous times on television, including three Emmy Award-winning specials. In 1989, he appeared on Broadway in Metamorphosis, earning a Tony nomination and a Drama Critics Award.

From 1990 to 2002, Baryshnikov was director and dancer with White Oak Dance Project, which he co-founded with American choreographer Mark Morris. White Oak was born of Baryshnikov's desire "to be a driving force in the production of art." In 2003–2004, he toured a program of solo works by noted American and European choreographers to benefit the Baryshnikov Art Center, scheduled to open in this winter in New York City. Among his recent awards are the Kennedy Center Honors, The National Medal of Honor, the Commonwealth Award, the Chubb Fellowship—Yale University's highest honor—and The Jerome Robbins Award.