Massine, Léonide

Massine, Léonide (lāônēd' mäsēn') [key], 1896–1979, American choreographer and ballet dancer, b. Russia. Massine attended the Imperial Ballet School, St. Petersburg, and became principal dancer and choreographer for Diaghilev's Ballet Russe (1914–20) and for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (1932–42). He was noted especially as a character dancer. Massine's choreographical works include Parade (1917), La Boutique fantasque (1919), The Three-cornered Hat (1919), Gaité parisienne (1938), Commedia umana (1960), and the films The Red Shoes (1948) and Tales of Hoffman (1951). In the 1940s he worked in the United States with the Ballet Theatre.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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