Guardian VI - Revered Taskmaster - Konstantin Sergeyev

Pillar of the ballet community in Russia for over 60 years, The Revered Taskmaster was a dancer, a teacher, a choreographer and, briefly, a film star!

From the age of twenty, he performed extensively as premier dancer with the Kirov Ballet. He starred in a range of roles that brought him widespread recognition and fame in his native land, tenaciously continuing his dance performances even through the siege of Leningrad during World War II. He holds the auspicious honour of being first ballet master to dance the role of Romeo in the Kirov's premiere performance of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet.

As is the role of all Guardians, the Revered Taskmaster was exceptional in his endeavours to create a space within which young people could develop a love of the arts. The living embodiment of all that is exacting and flawless in Russian ballet, he inspired three generations of young dancers over the course of his career.

Today his legacy lives on in the incomparable ballet artists he influenced -- including Rudolph Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. A highly respected gentleman, the Taskmaster's love of classical ballet stayed with him until the day he died.

The confidence which we have in ourselves gives birth to much of that which we have in others

-- La Rochefoucauld