Vladimir Vasiliev (dancer) Vladimir Vasiliev (dancer) Vladimir Viktorovich Vasiliev (Russian: Влади́мир Ви́кторович Васи́льев), (born April 18, 1940) is a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer from Moscow, Russia. He was a principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet and its director from 1995 to 2000. He was best known for his role of Spartacus and his powerful leaps and turns. Vladimir Vasiliev was named "God of the dance" and is regarded as a classical dancer on the same level as Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. At the height of their careers, Vladimir Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maximova were the golden couple of Russian ballet. Vladimir Vasiliev
Lauren Anderson (dancer) became a principal dancer in 1990. She was the second African-American female ballet dancer to be promoted to principal dancer at a major American ballet company, eight years after Debra Austin was promoted at the Pennsylvania Ballet. Her performance of the title role in "Cleopatra" gave her international recognition. She has also performed works by George Balanchine and Sir Kenneth MacMillan, among others. Ms. Anderson originated the role of Cleopatra in the ballet of the same name created by Ben Stevenson, and her performance received reviews; the Boston Globe called Ms. Anderson "a powerhouse in interpreting the role that Stevenson