Cranko, John Cyril (1927-1973)

South African-born British choreographer. He was a pivotal figure in the ballet boom of the 1960s. He joined Sadler's Wells, London, in 1946 as a dancer, becoming resident choreographer In 1950. In 1961 he became director of the Stuttgart Ballet, where he achieved the ‘Stuttgart Ballet Miracle’, turning it into a world-class company with a vital and exhilarating repertory. He excelled in the creation of full-length narrative ballets, such as Romeo and Juliet (1958) and Onegin (1965). He is also known for his one-act ballets, peopled with comic characters, as in Pineapple Poll (1951) and Jeu de cartes (1965).