| Born 1946 in Denmark |
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| Peter Martins is the Ballet Master in Chief of New York City Ballet. Mr. Martins, who was born in Denmark, began his association with NYCB in 1967, when he was invited to dance the title role in George Balanchine's Apollo during the Company's appearance at the Edinburgh Festival. He then performed as a guest artist with NYCB for three years before joining the Company as a principal dancer in 1970. Prior to retiring from dancing in 1983, Mr. Martins danced a tremendous variety of roles with the Company and was lauded for his outstanding partnering skills and noble stage presence. |
| In 1981, Mr. Martins was named Ballet Master for the New York City Ballet, a title he shared with George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and John Taras. From 1983 to 1989, Mr. Martins served as Co-Ballet Master in Chief with Jerome Robbins, then assumed sole directorship of the Company in 1990. In addition, Mr. Martins is Chairman of the Faculty of the School of American Ballet, the official school of NYCB, and Artistic Director of the New York Choreographic Institute. |
| Mr. Martins began his career as a choreographer in 1977 with Calcium Light Night, set to several pieces of music by Charles Ives. He has since created nearly 80 ballets - primarily for NYCB - ranging from pas de deux to large-scale pieces, set to music by composers as diverse as Tschaikovsky and Stravinsky, Wynton Marsalis, and John Adams. |
| During his tenure as Ballet Master in Chief, Mr. Martins has directed several important festivals and anniversary celebrations. |
| In 1988 to celebrate the Company's 40th anniversary, he conceived the American Music Festival, a three-week celebration of American music, art, and dance. In 1993, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Balanchine's death, Mr. Martins planned the Company's historic Balanchine Celebration, which featured a season-long retrospective of Balanchine's work performed in chronological order. In 1998, Mr. Martins planned the 50th Anniversary Season, a year-long celebration featuring an unprecedented performance schedule of more than 100 ballets during the Company's winter and spring seasons. For the Company's 2003-2004 season, to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the birth of George Balanchine, Mr. Martins envisioned Balanchine 100: The Centennial Celebration as a year-long exhibition-style approach to Balanchine's life and work. |
| In 1992, Mr. Martins conceived of The Diamond Project to give choreographers the opportunity to create new works within the vocabulary of classical ballet. Through 2006, 53 ballets by 29 different choreographers have been commissioned for NYCB through the Diamond Project. In September 2000, Mr. Martins and Irene Diamond, the principal benefactor of The Diamond Project, launched the New York Choreographic Institute. Each year the Institute provides selected choreographers with the opportunity to work with NYCB dancers in the Company's rehearsal studios at Lincoln Center. These sessions give choreographers a rare chance to explore and experiment, without the pressures of preparing for a performance. |
| Mr. Martins' autobiography, Far From Denmark, was published by Little, Brown in 1982. Mr. Martins was made a Knight of The First Order of Dannebrog by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in September 1983. |
