Biografia   

fonte: nytimes.com

morto a 49 anni

See the article in its original context from November 5, 1998, Section D, Page 4

Aleksandr Bogatyrev, a former star of the Bolshoi Ballet who was its acting artistic director until this spring, died in Moscow on Oct. 11. He was 49 and lived in Moscow.

The cause was a heart attack, friends in New York said.

Mr. Bogatyrev won the admiration of American ballet fans in the 1970's and 80's with a noble classical image that differed from the more heroic one typically projected by the Bolshoi's male dancers.

Born in Tallinn, Estonia, he graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet school in 1968 and joined the company in 1969. The same year he won a bronze medal at the first International Ballet Competition in Moscow. In 1976, he was awarded first prize at the International Ballet Competition in Tokyo.

Mr. Bogatyrev appeared as Siegfried in ''Swan Lake'' for the first time in 1971. When this ballet and other classics, including ''Raymonda'' were later restaged in new versions by Yuri Grigorovich, the troupe's artistic director, Mr. Bogatyrev danced the principal male role. He was in the original cast of Mr. Grigorovich's rechoreographed ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1979) and retired as a performer in the Bolshoi in 1989 to continue teaching at Gitis, the Government Arts Institute.

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During his career, he partnered the major Bolshoi ballerinas, Maya Plisetskaya, Yekaterina Maksimova, Natalya Bessmertnova and Ludmila Semenyaka.

Mr. Bogatyrev made his United States debut in 1975 with the Bolshoi, He also performed in Boston at the 1988 Russian Festival of Music and Dance, where he danced in ''The Sea Gull,'' choreographed by Ms. Plisetskaya. In 1989, he toured the country with a group headed by Vladimir Vasiliev and Ms. Maksimova.

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Mr. Vasiliev, currently director of the entire Bolshoi theater, named Mr. Bogatyrev acting artistic director of the ballet troupe two and a half years ago but officially appointed a younger dancer, Aleksei Fadeyechev, as artistic director last summer.

Mr. Bogatyrev is survived by his wife, Galina, a former dancer in the Bolshoi, and a son, Vladimir.

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