Yuri Vladimirov

Yuri Kuzmich Vladimirov was a Russian Bolshoi Ballet dancer. He became one of the troupe's leading soloists, often dancing with his wife Nina Sorokina. They achieved prizes at international competitions. He portrayed various title roles such as Sergei Slonimsky's Icarus, Richard Strauss's Don Quixote and especially Ivan the Terrible in 1975, which was created for him by choreographer Yury Grigorovich to music by Prokofiev, shown on tour at the Metropolitan Opera and filmed. Vladimirov was regarded as "the wild card" of the Bolshoi, for daring leaps and psychological portrayal of complex characters. He was honoured as Merited Artist of the Russian Federation in 1970, as People's Artist of the USSR in 1975, and received the Order of Honour in 1976.

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