Who was Anatole Oboukhoff? Anatole Oboukhoff was born in St. Petersburg in 1896. He studied at the Imperial Ballet School and went on to join the company in 1913, 8 years before Balanchine. He was promoted to premier danseur in 1917. His performance credits were extensive: He partnered Anna Pavlova on her last Russian tour in 1914 He danced with the Romanian Ballet the Russian Romantic Ballet the Ballet Riga in Latvia the Ballet de l’Opéra Russes in Paris the Lithuanian Opera