Iliko Sukhishvili

Iliko Sukhishvili
ილიკო სუხიშვილი
Born(1907-04-04)4 April 1907
Mejvriskhevi, near Gori, Tiflis Governorate, Russian Empire
Died24 March 1985(1985-03-24) (aged 77)
Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Resting place
Didube Pantheon, Tbilisi
OccupationsDancer, choreographer
Years active1924–1985
Spouse
​
(m. 1930)​
ChildrenTengiz Sukhishvili

Ilia "Iliko" Ilias dze Sukhishvili (Georgian: ილიკო სუხიშვილი; 4 April 1907 – 24 March 1985) was a Georgian dancer and choreographer who, together with his wife Nino Ramishvili, founded the Georgian State Dance Company (today the Sukhishvili Georgian National Ballet) in 1945.[1] A People's Artist of the USSR, he served as the ensemble's principal dancer and artistic director for the rest of his life and is regarded as one of the founders of Georgian stage folk dance.[2]

Early life and career

Sukhishvili was born on 4 April 1907 in the village of Mejvriskhevi, near Gori in what was then the Tiflis Governorate of the Russian Empire.[2] He trained in Georgian folk dance and at the Tbilisi ballet school of Maria Perini, and from 1926 danced with the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre, where he later became a soloist and ballet-master.[2][3] In the early 1930s he further studied in Moscow, working at the Bolshoi Theatre as an assistant to the ballet-master Kasian Goleizovsky.[3] In 1935 he won a medal as a laureate of a world festival of folk-dance performers held in London, and from 1939 to 1941 he was a soloist of the Alexandrov Ensemble.[3]

Georgian State Dance Company

In 1945 Sukhishvili and Nino Ramishvili founded the Georgian State Dance Company, the ensemble now known as the Sukhishvili Georgian National Ballet.[1] Drawing on Georgian folk tradition, Sukhishvili choreographed many of the dances that became the company's signature repertoire and remained its artistic director and chief choreographer until his death.[3] Under the couple's direction the ensemble toured internationally and performed in dozens of countries, becoming one of the best-known folk-dance companies in the world.[1]

Awards and honours

[3]

Personal life

Sukhishvili was married to the dancer and choreographer Nino Ramishvili (1910–2000), with whom he founded and led the ensemble.[1] Their son, Tengiz Sukhishvili (1938–2007), and later their grandson Iliko Sukhishvili Jr. (born 1972) went on to direct the company.[3] Sukhishvili died in Tbilisi on 24 March 1985 and was buried at the Didube Pantheon.[2][11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Georgia's National Ballet "Sukhishvili"". WIPO Magazine. World Intellectual Property Organization. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Iliko Sukhishvili". GoriMaps. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sukhishvili, Georgy (1988). Masters of Georgian Folk Choreography (in Georgian). Tbilisi: Khelovneba.
  4. ↑ "О награждении работников Тбилисского Театра Оперы и Балета, этнографических хоров Восточной и Западной Грузии и ведущих работников участников декады грузинского искусства в Москве" (PDF). Zarya Vostoka (in Russian). No. 12. 15 January 1937. p. 1.
  5. ↑ "Указ Президиума Верховного Совета Грузинской ССР О присвоении почетных званий работникам искусств Грузинской ССР" (PDF). Zarya Vostoka (in Russian). No. 8. 10 January 1943. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 May 2024.
  6. ↑ "Указ Президиума Верховного Совета Грузинской ССР О присвоении почетного звания народного артиста Грузинской ССР Сухишвили И. И." (PDF). Zarya Vostoka (in Russian). No. 203. 10 October 1948. p. 1.
  7. ↑ "В Совете Министров Союза ССР О присуждении Сталинских премий за выдающиеся работы в области литературы и искусства за 1948 год". Pravda (in Russian). No. 100. 10 April 1949. p. 3. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024.
  8. ↑ "Указ Президиума Верховного Совета СССР О ПРИСВОЕНИИ ПОЧЕТНОГО ЗВАНИЯ НАРОДНОГО АРТИСТА СССР ДЕЯТЕЛЯМ ИСКУССТВА ГРУЗИНСКОЙ ССР" (PDF). Zarya Vostoka (in Russian). No. 92. 19 April 1958. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 January 2026.
  9. ↑ "Указ Президиума Верховного Совета СССР О награждении народного артиста СССР Сухишвили И. И. орденом Ленина" (PDF). Vedomosti Verkhovnogo Soveta SSSR (in Russian). No. 13. 1 April 1981.
  10. ↑ "От комитета по Государственным премиями Грузинской ССР имени Шота Руставели" (PDF). Zarya Vostoka (in Russian). No. 47. 24 February 1973. p. 3.
  11. ↑ "От Центрального Комитета Компартии Грузии, Президиума Верховного Совета и Совета Министров республики" (PDF). Zarya Vostoka (in Russian). No. 71. 26 March 1985. p. 1.
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