Boris Volkoff 1900-1974
Boris Volkoff came to Toronto in 1929 as an outstanding ballet dancer trained in a technical and expressive style associated with the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Volkoff began choreographing shows for the Toronto Skating Club in 1934, and eventually built an international reputation for his ballets on ice. He would also earn the title "the father of Canadian Ballet". In his dance school, founded on this site in 1030, Volkoff inspired new generations of dancers, developed an audience to support their art, and created original Canadian works for them to perform, including "The Red Ear of Corn" (1949). Volkoff also founded one of Canada's earliest ballet companies and co-founded the influential Canadian Ballet Festival; both make possible the formation of The National Ballet of Canada in 1951. A year before his death, Bris Volkoff was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada for "his pioneer work in the field of ballet".
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Toronto Plaques. Full page here.