About the Author

Mihail Chemiakin (Moscow 1943) grew up in occupied East Germany, and returned to Russia in 1957. Chemiakin's first ballet production, "The Nutcracker," premiered across Theater Square from the Conservatory, at the Mariinsky Theatre, and has played since 2001 in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Paris, Washington, D.C., and Baden-Baden. Chemiakin's work is in the permanent collections of numerous museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of New York. He lives in New York's Hudson Valley.