Armenian ballet dancer and actor

Vilen Galstyan (Armenian: Վիլեն Գալստյան, 12 February 1941 – 4 June 2021) was an Armenian ballet dancer and actor who was popular in the former U.S.S.R. and especially in Armenia. He was awarded by the People's Artist of Armenia honorary *le.

Biography

Galstyan was born on 12 February 1941 in Yerevan. He trained at Yerevan C*ographic School, before he began performing with Spendiaryan Opera and Ballet Theater. He also performed internationally, including at the Bolshoi Theatre. He took part in a Canadian tour with Mikhail Baryshnikov, during which Baryshnikov defected. Galstyan stated that he was questioned by the KGB as a result. He won gold medals at Varna International Ballet Compe*ion and another international compe*ion in Cairo in 1968 and 1971 respectively. He appeared in over 60 films during his 40-year career, including in The Color of Pomegranates, after he was spotted by director Sergei Parajanov during a performance of Giselle.

After studying at the balletmaster department of Russian Ins*ute of Theatre Arts, he started staging ballets worldwide. In 2000, he started the balletmaster department at Yerevan State Ins*ute of Theatre and Cinematography. From 2014, he was the chief c*ographer of Spendiaryan Opera and Ballet Theater. He also served as the director of Yerevan C*ographic College. He was awarded the People's Artist of Armenia honorary *le.

He was married to ballet dancer and teacher Nadezhda Davtyan, and had a daughter who became an opera singer, and a son who is also a ballet dancer. He died on 4 June 2021.

References

External links

• Vilen Galstyan at IMDb