Alvin Ailey (1931–1989): A groundbreaking modern dancer and choreographer who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, significantly popularizing modern dance. Ailey said that one of America's richest treasures was the African-American cultural heritage—"sometimes sorrowful, sometimes jubilant, but always hopeful." This enduring classic is a tribute to that tradition, born out of the choreographer's "blood memories" of his childhood in rural Texas and the Baptist Church. But since its premiere in 1960, the ballet has been performed continuously around the globe, transcending barriers of faith and nationality, and appealing to universal emotions, making it the most widely-seen modern dance work in the world. Were you aware of Alvin Alley?

Rudolf Nureyev (1938–1993): One of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century, known for his work with the Royal Ballet and the Kirov Ballet. His relentless pursuit of freedom a bold act of rebellion or sheer indulgence? Irina Shikhman uncovers untold stories. Were you aware of Rudolf Nureyev?

Matthew Bourne: (born January 13, 1960, Hackney, London, England) is a British choreographer and dancer noted for his uniquely updated interpretations of traditional ballet repertoire. A pioneering British choreographer famous for his all-male Swan Lake and other reimagined ballet classics. Radical reinterpretation of classic ballet was a hallmark of Bourne's choreographic style. In 1992 he set the Christmas Eve scene of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker in a Victorian orphanage reminiscent of a workhouse in a Charles Dickens novel. Highland Fling, his 1994 version of Filippo Taglioni's La Sylphide, took place in a housing project in modern-day Glasgow, Scotland. Were you aware of Matthew Bourne?