Forty-five years ago today, July 27, 1974, Mikhail Nikolayevich "Misha" Baryshnikov made his American Ballet Theatre debut, dancing opposite fellow expatriate Natalia Makarova just weeks after his defection from the Soviet Union. He was a sensation. He has never returned to Russia.
In my opinion he is one of the finest male ballet dancers I have ever seen. He dances like a male stag leaping and frolicking through the woods. Bruce Lee wanted to train him as a martial artist. They were on the same level skill wise. Ballet dancers are incredible athletes.
