March 4
Born Today:
Mikko Nissinen
Choreographer Mikko Nissinen (1962-) performed with the Dutch National Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet and has directed the Boston Ballet since 2001. Nissinen trained with the Finnish National Ballet School and went on to train with the Kirov school. Before landing in Boston, he directed the Alberta Ballet in Canada. Under his direction, Boston Ballet has toured internationally and formed a partnership with gifted choreographer William Forsythe (1949-), who has set a number of his works on the company.
Also Born Today: Choreographer Lee Scott (1925-1996) created dances for Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) in the movie Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) and an amazing Barn Dance number featuring Tommy Rall (1929-2020) in The Second Greatest Sex (1955), which is worth comparing to the Barn Raising number choreographed by Michael Kidd (1915-2007) a year earlier in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954).
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Movie: Call Me Madam released in 1953
Modern Dance Premiere: Canfield in 1969