How tall was Alexander Godunov?
He was born on Sakhalin Island at the far east end of the former Soviet Union and began learning dance at the Riga State Ballet School at age 9. He said his mother put him there later to discourage him from being "a hooligan." Mikhail Baryshnikov was one of his school-mates and colleagues. He had performed with the Moscow Classical Ballet since graduation. In 1971 he joined the Bolshoi; in "Swan Lake," "Giselle" and other classical and modern works he won positive reviews for the lead there. He received a gold medal in 1973 at the International Competition in Moscow. He received further attention the same year as the Bolshoi were visiting the United States. He was then branded a possible defector and was not approved to tour for five years. He did defect in August 1979.
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