Maris Liepa Biography

Māris Rūdolfs Liepa (27 July 1936, Riga – 26 March 1989, Moscow) was a Soviet Latvian ballet dancer. He graduated from Riga Choreography School where he was taught by Valentin Blinov (Russian: Валентин Блинов). He performed in Moscow for the first time in 1950. At the height of career, Liepa was considered one of the finest male dancers in the world and one of the most versatile, at home in a wide range of roles.