Alexander Gorsky (1871–1924) was a Russian choreographer and a contemporary of Marius Petipa. Gorsky choreographed, restaged, and revived many ballets, but is perhaps best known for restaging Petipa’s classical ballets such as Swan Lake, Don Quixote, and The Nutcracker.
Speaking of his version of Don Quixote, premièred in Moscow in 1900, Gorsky said “The distinction of my production is that there is a continuous movement of groups on the stage; the scenes are based on a plan new and original with me; I do not recognise any rules of symmetry.” Gorsky is considered a pioneer of realism in ballet;he valued naturalistic acting over bravura techniques, and fluidity over the stiff poses that were popular in his day.