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
Ballet San Jose shared for two seasons by Principal Ballet Master and former long time principal dancer of Cleveland San Jose Ballet, Raymond Rodriguez and former retired ABT dancer, Artistic Advisor Wes Chapman. George Daugherty was appointed Music Director and Principal Conductor in August, 2012 after Maestro Dwight Oltman’s 35 year tenure. José Manuel Carreño was appointed Artistic Director effective September 2013. In March 2015, with mounting debt, the company announced an emergency fundraiser in which it needed to raise $550,000 to maintain operations and cover the expenses of the rest of the season. Ziesel was fired and under the direction of the