Biographical Note
Born June 6, 1917, in Moscow, Russia, George Zoritch began dancing at an early age. His teachers included Pavel Petroff, Theodore Vasilieff, and later the renowned Olga Preobrajenskaya. At age 15, Zoritch auditioned successfully for the Ida Rubenstein Ballet company; he later danced with the Russian Classical Ballet. Zoritch danced with all of the companies that were successors to Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, including Colonel W. de Basil's Ballets Russes; Sergei Denham's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo; and the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas. He traveled extensively through Europe, South America, and North America and taught from 1973 to 1987 in the Dance Division of the University of Arizona. He died November 1, 2009, in Tucson, Arizona.