Rostislav Zakharov

Russian dancer, choreographer, teacher, and director

Also known as: Rostislav Vladimirovich Zakharov

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In full:: Rostislav Vladimirovich Zakharov

Born:: Sept. 7, 1907, Astrakhan, Russia

Died:: Jan. 14, 1984, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.

Also Known As:: Rostislav Vladimirovich Zakharov

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Rostislav Zakharov (born Sept. 7, 1907, Astrakhan, Russia—died Jan. 14, 1984, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) was a Russian ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher, and director. He studied at the Leningrad State (formerly Imperial) Ballet School and joined the Kiev Ballet in 1926. He later choreographed ballets for the resident company at the Kirov Theatre (now the Mariinsky Theatre) and various other dance groups, applying the Stanislavsky method to ballet by emphasizing its dramatic aspects. He was director of the Bolshoi Ballet school (1946–49) and was a founding member of the choreography faculty at the Theater Institute in Moscow from 1958.

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