Baryshnikov packs up his career up in boxes
Mikhail Baryshnikov has donated his personal archive to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
It contains letters as well as rare photographs and 650 video recordings, including footage of Baryshnikov rehearsing with the great George Balanchine and Merce Cunningham.
In an interview with the New York Times, the dancer said the archive represented his whole life. “I feel a weight from my shoulders.” he said, adding, “In the first part of life, you accumulate things. In the second part of life, you get rid of it.”
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
