Peter Martins, on 30 Years With City Ballet

NYTimes.com: On April 30, 1983, the co-founder and celebrated choreographer of New York City Ballet, George Balanchine, died. Balanchine was his form’s Picasso, the greatest choreographer of the 20th century, who changed the techniques and perceptions of his art. A successor seemed impossible, but a successor there had to be. It was Peter Martins, the tall, blond Danish dancer who had joined City Ballet 13 years earlier.