Limited Edition Photograph, 2008 - Mikhail Baryshnikov

Hailed as one of the greatest dancers in ballet history, Mikhail Baryshnikov wears many hats in addition to his dancing shoes: he is a choreographer, photographer, and Academy Award-nominated actor as well as being the founder of the Baryshnikov Arts Center, an avant-garde performance space in New York City.

As a young dancer in the USSR, Baryshnikov was praised for his impeccable technique and irrepressible charisma. Nevertheless, he was frustrated with the Soviet Union's artistic conservatism and aspired to work with innovative choreographers beyond the Iron Curtain. While on tour in Canada with the Bolshoi Ballet, Baryshnikov defected from the USSR. In his prime, he danced for New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, where he later served as artistic director from 1980 to 1989. Baryshnikov is known for signature roles such as the virtuosic "God of Dance" in Vestris, the licentious Duke Albrecht in Giselle, and—in a surprising stint in television comedy—as Carrie Bradshaw's urbane lover, artist Aleksandr Petrovsky, in Sex and the City.

A prolific and accomplished photographer, Baryshnikov captures the body in motion, counting photographs of dancers by Irving Penn, Ilse Bing, and Paul Himmel as his primary influences. Baryshnikov's awards include the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Honor, the Commonwealth Award, the Chubb Fellowship, and the Jerome Robbins Award, and he was made a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor. His photographs have been exhibited at 401 Projects in New York and the Gary Nader Art Centre in Miami. Read Less