Peter Martins

About

After having a career as a principal dancer with both the New York City Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet, he became a choreographer and the artistic director of the former company. He earned a Tony Award nomination for his choreography work on the 1985 Broadway production of Song & Dance.

Before Fame

He began taking ballroom dancing lessons when he was just five years old. Later, he trained at the Royal Danish Ballet School.

Trivia

In 1982, he penned an autobiography titled Far From Denmark.

Family Life

His first marriage, to ballerina Lise La Cour, resulted in a son, Nilas, who also had a career as a dancer. He later wed ballet dancer Darci Kistler; the couple welcomed a daughter, Talicia, in 1996.

Associated With

His earliest work of choreography, a piece titled Calcium Light Night, was set to the music of modernist composer Charles Ives.