Yuri Soloviev

Soloviev, Yuri (b Leningrad, 10 Aug. 1940, d nr. Leningrad, 12 Jan. 1977). Soviet dancer. He studied at the Leningrad Choreographic School and graduated into the Kirov in 1958 where he became one of its most virtuoso principals. His pure technique and extraordinary elevation were shown off to an exceptional degree in the role of the Blue Bird, but he also danced the standard danseur noble roles including the Prince in the Kirov's 1965 film of Sleeping Beauty. He created roles in several ballets, including Belsky's Leningrad Symphony (1961), Sergeyev's The Distant Planet (1963), Jacobson's Land of Miracles (1967), and the title role in Belsky's Icarus (1974). He was made People's Artist of the USSR in 1973. His death was apparently by suicide, and was possibly prompted by despair at being trapped in the stagnant political and artistic climate of his era (the same frustration which impelled other contemporaries, such as Nureyev, to defect).