Who

Peter Martins is the artistic director of the New York City Ballet and heir to the legacy of ballet great George Ballanchine.

Backstory

The Danish-born dancer joined New York City Ballet in 1970 and soon became one of its most alluring male stars, appearing as a principal dancer in shows like The Nutcracker and Jerome Robbins's Goldberg Variations. In 1981, he was named "Ballet Master" at NYCB. The chosen successor to the great George Balanchine, Martins took the helm of the company in 1983 following Balanchine's death. Still at it more than 20 years later, Martins now oversees as many as 60 ballets staged each year at Lincoln Center (as well more than a dozen held at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs each summer) and a company of more than 90 dancers.

Of note

Martins may still maintain the air of his most famous role, the sun god Apollo, but he hasn't been controversy-free, by any means. Old-timers never quite forgave him for failing to live up to Ballanchine's legacy, an impossible task, to be fair; critics have complained that he's turned the once vibrant ballet company into a bunch of stiff skinny robots who've "wiped the dances clean of meaning"; and his own choreography has never generated more than lukewarm reviews. Martins has had some successes, though. He's done a good job massaging the egos of the business leaders and society figures who provide the company with funding, an ever-important task in this day and age. He's also responsible for luring ballet's current golden boy, Christopher Wheeldon, to the NYCB.

Keeping score

Martins earns $619,000 a year.

Namedrop

The NYCB board includes Barry Friedberg, Stephen Schwarzman, Daniel Brodsky, Nina Griscom, Maria Bartiromo, Lesley Stahl, Bob Pittman, Samuel DiPiazza, and Kimba Wood, among others. Kate Betts, Candace Bushnell, Robert Couturier, Allison Sarofim, and Charlotte Moss are a few of the "special events ambassadors."

Personal

Martins had a long relationship with ballerina Heather Watts, but is now married to NYCB ballerina Darci Kistler, with whom he has a daughter who will probably start dancing soon. Martins' son from a previous marriage, Nilas, is a principal member of the NYCB, but he received some unfortunate publicity in 2007, when he was suspended after being arrested for cocaine possession. Martins and Kistler live in the Westchester town of Irvington.

Legal file

In 1992 Martins was held on an assault charge against Kistler. The ballerina claimed that Martins verbally abused, pushed and slapped her during an argument. The charges were later dropped, with the couple leaving the courthouse arm-in-arm.