Mikhail Baryshnikov Net Worth

Mikhail Baryshnikov's Quotes

• I am not the first straight dancer, nor the last.
• There comes a moment in a young artist's life when he knows he has to bring something to the stage from within himself. He has to put in something in order to be able to take something out.
• I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to to dance better than myself.
• The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure.
• [on the late Fred Astaire] "No dancer can watch him and not know that all the rest of us should be in a different business. Astaire is remote. It's as if he were in an incubator, breathing his own air. His perfection is like crystal: you can see through it. It's hopeless to try and imitate him."

Interesting Facts about Mikhail Baryshnikov

1. Living with Lisa Rinehart since 1988.
2. Following his defection in Canada, the first ballet troupe that he performed with was the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
3. Mikhail was a 2000 recipient of the John F. Kennedy Center Honors.
4. Has four children: Aleksandra (b. 5 March 1981) by Jessica Lange; Peter (b. 7 July 1989), Anna Baryshnikov (b. 22 May 1992) and Sofia (b. 24 May 1994) by Lisa Rinehart.
5. Has his own clothing line: "Baryshnikov", plus his own perfume brand: "Misha".
6. Taught by ballet instructor Bella Kovarsky when he was a child, Baryshnikov danced with the Kirov Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) and the New York City Ballet. He later served as artistic director with ABT from 1980-89 (his successor was Kevin McKenzie), then ran his own academy, the Baryshnikov School of Classic Ballet. He also founded the White Oak Dance Project ballet troupe. He has been called "The Nijinsky of his time", as both were of short height and stocky muscular physique, with especially developed leg strength.
7. Dated Liza Minnelli, Tuesday Weld and Isabella Rossellini.
8. Frequently attended legendary New York disco Studio 54.
9. Was nominated for Broadway's 1989 Tony Award as Best Actor (Play) for "Metamorphosis."
10. When he met Jessica Lange, he spoke little English. Fortunately for him, Lange spoke French, which he could speak fluently.
11. Daughter Shura (Aleksandra) Baryshnikov, whose mother is Jessica Lange, graduated from Marlboro College in Vermont, the same college that Chris Noth attended in the 70s. [2003]
12. He had a romantic relationship with fellow Soviet defector and prima ballerina assoluta Natasha Makarova. She was eight years his senior. She ended it because of this fact and when she needed him back as a sympathetic shoulder to cry on, Baryshnikov was already involved with another young ballerina named Gelsey Kirkland.
13. His name in English means "Michael."
14. He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 2000 by the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington D.C.
15. He appeared in three of the ballet programs which were Emmy-nominated for "Outstanding Classical Program in the Performing Arts" in the same year - "Giselle", "American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera House", and "The Nutcracker". "Giselle" was the one that took home the Emmy, but "The Nutcracker" remains the one that has most often been shown and is consistently the most popular. The other two have not even been released on video or DVD, due to a royalties dispute about all "Live From Lincoln Center" programs.
16. When he met Jessica Lange, he spoke little English. Fortunately for him, Lange spoke French, which he could speak fluently.
17. Hobby is golf.
18. Owner of ballet troupe, "White Oak Dance Project".
19. Taught by ballet instructor Bella Kovarsky when he was a child.
20. Appearing in dramatic roles in a series of one-act plays by Samuel Beckett, at the New York Theater Workshop. [December 2007]