DANCE | TALENT
ABOUT
The late Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky described Mikhail Baryshnikov’s movement as “pure body metaphysics,” saying it “burst from the framework of ballet.” In his longtime friend, Brodsky recognised something beyond talent and technical mastery—movement that reveals presence as being. When Baryshnikov takes the stage, his body is not a vessel for meaning, but meaning itself.
Born in Latvia to Russian parents, Baryshnikov was drawn to performance early. He trained under Alexander Pushkin at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet and later became a principal dancer with the Kirov Ballet. In 1974, while on tour with the company in Canada, he made the dangerous decision to defect from the USSR: “What I have done is called a crime in Russia,” he remarked, “but my life is my art, and I realised it would be a greater crime to destroy that.”
The years since have proven this true, Baryshnikov remains a singular and virtuosic presence in dance. He has worked with the world’s great companies and choreographers. His practice has expanded to include theatre, film, and photography. Now in his seventies, he remains ever-active: this year marks the 20th anniversary of the Baryshnikov Arts Center, a space he founded to nurture new artistic voices. We visited him there and found an artist who resists the trappings of myth: someone more interested in speaking about craft, relationships, and curiosity than the arc of his own fame.
Talent: Mikhail Baryshnikov
Photographer: Mark Mahaney
Stylist: Gabriella Norberg
Groomer: Kristan Serafino @ WSM
Set Designer: Grace Beck
Photo Assistants: Sam Valle, Dana Golan
Styling Assistant: Amber Rana
Producer: Izzy Cohan @ Fresh Produce
Production Assistants: Ryan Collins, James Norwood
Backdrops: Done & Dusted
Editor-in-Chief: Sasha Kovaleva
With special thanks to Sam Black and the entire team at the Baryshnikov Arts Center
