Peter Martins

Ballet dancer and choreographer, born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He trained at the School of the Royal Danish Ballet, and performed in its company (1965–9) before joining the New York City Ballet (1970). Key roles and a celebrated partnership with Suzanne Farrell propelled him to prominence as a dancer. He began choreographing with Calcium Light Night (1977), and in 1983 he was appointed co-ballet master-in-chief with Jerome Robbins and retired from dancing. He became the sole master-in-chief in 1990. He choreographed several pieces a year, such as Songs of the Auvergne (1986), and in 1993 restaged Sleeping Beauty after Petipa, and produced a much-acclaimed retrospective of George Balanchine's works.

Peter Martins (October 27, 1946 - ) is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. He danced with the Royal Danish Ballet and the New York City Ballet, and is currently NYCB's Ballet Master in Chief.

Born and raised in Denmark, Martins was studied at the School of the Royal Danish Ballet and danced with RDB from 1965-1969. Martins danced a wide variety of roles, although he may be most famous for "Apollo" and the Cavalier in The Nutcracker (Balanchine's version). Martins was Balanchine's choice to run the company, and he was made ballet master in 1981.

Martins regularly choreographs new works for both NYCB and RDB. His more recent pieces include "Octet," "Frisandes" and the full-length ballets "The Sleeping Beauty" and "Swan Lake." His autobiography, Far From Denmark was published in 1982, and his exercise regimen, NYCB Workout, first appeared in book form in 1997, with a DVD and a second series produced later.

His son, Nilas Martins (son of former ballerina and former Royal Danish Ballet associate director Lise la Cour), is a principal dancer at NYCB. Peter Martins had a long relationship with former NYCB ballerina Heather Watts.