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Boyishly cute, diminutive and strong as a bull, but as graceful as any gazelle or swan, Mikhail Baryshnikov is a household name even to non-balletomanes. Widely considered to be one of the greatest and biggest names in dance.

Mikhail began his ballet studies in his native Riga, Latvia. He was accepted by the Leningrad Choreographic School, the associate school of the Kirov Ballet. One of his instructors there was Alexander Pushkin, who had taught Rudolf Nureyev - who defected in Paris and was already making a name for himself in America. Among Baryshnikov's friends at the school were Alexander Godunov (nicknamed Sasha) and "ballerina assoluta" Natalia Makarova.

Mikhail joined the Kirov Ballet of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) and his technique and balletic abilities were so great, he skipped the corps and was immediately put in a soloist position. While doing quite well in Russia, even finding an audience fan-base, the government and dance seemed to be too limiting and frustrating for him. Like other Russian dancers before him and after him, he would soon defect.

When the Kirov was touring in Canada, Baryshnikov defected and then quickly became a member of the National Ballet of Canada. Later on, he joined the American Ballet Theatre becoming one of the company's principal dancers. During this time he was reintroduced to 'Gelsey Kirkland' of New York City Ballet, whom he had previously met in Russia, becoming partners both on the stage and in real life. The celebrated partnership went on to become legendary, with their most well-known work being Baryshnikov's version of Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker".

In 1977, Mikhail made his film debut in The Turning Point (1977), a part written especially for him, where he played Yuri, a superstar ballet defector from Russia who beds more ballerinas than he dances with. Gelsey was also slated to co-star, but she wanted "no part of Hollywood", had objections to the story-line and soon after the two split. The movie went on to be nominated for 11 Oscars, including one for Mikhail.

Throughout his life Mikhail had idolized George Balanchine, the great choreographer and ballet master of the early 20th century for his innovation within the art of modern ballet. Thus, in addition to his occasional casting in films, Baryshnikov applied to and became a student of the great Balanchine, learning his choreography styles, taking a sabbatical from the ABT. Mikhail danced "Prodigal Son" and numerous other ballets at NYCB under Balanchine's direction and continued with NYCB until he was offered the position of Artistic Director at ABT. He briefly resumed the role of principal dancer, but was forced to quit professional ballet due to injuries. In the 1990's, he co-founded the White Oak Dance Project, and in 2000 received a lifetime of achievement award at the Kennedy Center Honor Awards.

Baryshnikov has been called the greatest male dancer of the 20th century and continues to dance, model and act, both in film and in the theater.

Elya Baskin is a Soviet Latvia-born American actor, best-known for his work on Spider-Man 2 (2004), The Name of the Rose (1986) and Spider-Man 3 (2007). He was born on August 11, 1950 in Riga, USSR [now Latvia] as Elya Zalmanovich Baskin to Zalman and Frieda Baskin, both of Russian Jewish descent. He attended and is a graduate of Moscow's prestigious Theatre and Variety Arts College and won a Festival of Young Actors Award at the Moscow Comedy Theatre; Baskin was virtually assured of a successful career in the Soviet Union. About his choice of profession in the former USSR he has said: "In Russia, being an actor when it was still the Soviet Union was one of the most prestigious professions. It was like being a doctor here. You had to graduate from one of very few theatre schools, which were all four-year colleges. Without the degree, nobody would hire you. We worked very hard because we wanted to get through the four years and get the diploma, but after you graduate and go to the theatre, the actors don't work like actors work here. That's what fascinated me more than anything else here, how professional people were, how hard they worked, and how much harder it was to get work. In Russia we were always taught that we had the best theatre schools, but when I came here and started to work, I saw how wrong we were. You really have to be the best to get the part here."

Then he built a formidable reputation on the European stage. Baskin immigrated to the United States in 1976 when pre-perestroika emigration rules were relaxed in 1976 and he came to Hollywood, although he spoke no English. About the change from stage to screen work, he said: "In Moscow, theatre was my passion, my love, and I did very little television and film. Once I came here, I thought that because of the language barrier -I didn't know that you don't loop the films like we do in Europe- I'll try to pursue TV and films. For some reason I lost interest in theatre. Film work became so much more fascinating, the whole building of the character, no continuity, the whole camera aspect. Those are the things that really fascinated me. The language was the biggest challenge. Instead of concentrating on the development of the character, you're thinking about your mouth, about putting your tongue in the right position so people can understand you. I've worked for 20 years, and I will never be able to do a role in English like I would do it in my native tongue, and I know it. Of course, with the years it becomes easier, and more often than not I'm cast as a character with an accent."

Baskin fit the bill in Hollywood for ethnic character portrayals, especially characters with a Slavic background and an amiable demeanor. About his being stereotyped, he said: "I feel that, of course, I'm stereotyped. But what can you do? I can't imagine that some director would cast me as a sheriff from Alabama. But you can do exactly what you said: With every character, they're different people, and it's up to you what you do with them. This is your challenge. It doesn't matter how limited your piece of the pie that you can use, you always try to do the best that you can. How can I be upset for not being cast as a Southern sheriff? That's what you call acting; you try to utilize whatever you can to be a different person every time."

He achieved his international breakthrough, however, at the hands of Hollywood giant Paul Mazursky, who cast him opposite Robin Williams as the clownish Russian circus performer Anatoly in the masterful serio-comedy, Moscow on the Hudson (1984) where the actor's birdlike arm-flapping became one of the film's most poignant and memorable images. An additional collaboration with Mazursky followed, the 1989 smash Enemies: A Love Story; in the meantime, Baskin began to rack up a litany of roles in additional A-list projects, including 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), Vice Versa (1988), and Love Affair (1994). The Pickle (1993) re-teamed Baskin and Mazursky for a third occasion; unfortunately, it failed to match the critical or commercial success of its predecessors.

Baskin remained popular through the end of the following decade, with a memorable comedic turn as Vladimir on the sitcom Mad About You, and prominent roles in films such as Spider-Man 3 and The Dukes (both 2007). He has continued playing guest roles on TV in such series as The West Wing, Alias, The Closer, Criminal Minds, Heroes, and Cold Case.

Baskin emigrated to the United States in 1976 and became a United States citizen on April 1, 1985. He and his wife Marina have been married since 1995. They have one child, a daughter, Michelle.

Cynthia Lynn was born on 2 April 1936 in Riga, Latvia. She was an actress, known for Hogan's Heroes (1965), Mission: Impossible (1966) and The Six Million Dollar Man (1974). She died on 10 March 2014 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Rutanya Alda was born on 13 October 1942 in Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union. She is an actress and writer, known for The Deer Hunter (1978), Mommie Dearest (1981) and Amityville II: The Possession (1982). She was previously married to Richard Bright.

The son of an affluent architect, Eisenstein attended the Institute of Civil Engineering in Petrograd as a young man. With the fall of the tsar in 1917, he worked as an engineer for the Red Army. In the following years, Eisenstein joined up with the Moscow Proletkult Theater as a set designer and then director. The Proletkult's director, Vsevolod Meyerhold, became a big influence on Eisenstein, introducing him to the concept of biomechanics, or conditioned spontaneity. Eisenstein furthered Meyerhold's theory with his own "montage of attractions"--a sequence of pictures whose total emotion effect is greater than the sum of its parts. He later theorized that this style of editing worked in a similar fashion to Marx's dialectic. Though Eisenstein wanted to make films for the common man, his intense use of symbolism and metaphor in what he called "intellectual montage" sometimes lost his audience. Though he made only seven films in his career, he and his theoretical writings demonstrated how film could move beyond its nineteenth-century predecessor--Victorian theatre-- to create abstract concepts with concrete images.

Natasha Shneider was born on 22 May 1956 in Riga, Latvian SSR, USSR. She was an actress, known for 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), 2012 (2009) and Catwoman (2004). She was married to Alain Johannes and Serge Kapustin. She died on 2 July 2008 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Bill Rebane was born on 8 February 1937 in Riga, Latvia. Bill is a director and producer, known for The Giant Spider Invasion (1975), Blood Harvest (1987) and Twister's Revenge! (1988). Bill was previously married to Barbara J. Rebane.

David Agranov was born in Riga, Latvia to Russian parents. His family moved to Italy and lived in Rome on Viale Regina Margherita. They then moved to London for some time, before finally emigrating to the United States. He grew up in the Washington, D.C. area and became a naturalized American citizen. Agranov is an actor, singer, and songwriter who works in Theatre, Film, Television, and Music. (member: AEA, SAG, AFTRA, ASCAP.)

He is known for playing the sadistic prison physician, "Dr. Marat", who manipulates Villanelle, played by Jodie Comer, in the hit series 'Killing Eve' from Phoebe Waller-Bridge and BBC America, Hired and Directed by Danny Boyle for F/X's 'Trust', he also plays "J. Ronald Getty", son to J. Paul Getty, as portrayed by Donald Sutherland. Shot in London, Rome, and Calabria, the cast also includes Hilary Swank as Gail Getty, Harris Dickinson, as the kidnapped grandson, J. Paul Getty III, as well as Michael Esper, and Norbert Leo Butz as the other Getty sons.

In May of 2019, he had his debut as a cast member of a Film In Competition at the Cannes Film Festival, when 'La Gomera', in Selection Officielle, had its World Premiere. Directed by Corneliu Porumboiu, the film's international title is 'The Whistlers'. He plays "Denis", the young American filmmaker who shows up at the wrong place at the wrong time.

He'll next be seen as "The Knight" in the upcoming feature film 'A Pity', directed by Kevin and Alec Barth. Their Director of Photography was Chayse Irvin, also known for Spike Lee's 'BlacKkKlansman' and the upcoming 'Blonde' from Andrew Dominik.

He played "Rodolpho" in A View from the Bridge, directed by Daniel Aukin at the Tony Award Winning Regional Theatre, Arena Stage, with Delaney Williams, Virginia Kull, and Louis Cancelmi. He co-produced and starred in the West Coast Premiere of the stage version of 'Trainspotting' where he gave a tour de force performance as "Tommy". He also played "Edmund the Bastard" at the Met Theatre in Los Angeles, with James Gammon as 'King Lear'. He is the creator of the one man show, 'The Chet Baker Project', where he portrays the trumpeter/singer, and has performed this one act play in New York, Beverly Hills, and Rome.

Agranov recurred as "Yuri the Fury" on 'Ray Donovan' for Showtime, opposite Liev Schreiber, Jack Kesy, and Raymond J. Barry. He also recurred as "Jim Ballard" on 'The Unit', produced by David Mamet for 20th Century Fox Television. He then went on to play "Ferdinand" in Tom Stoppard's 'Rock and Roll' at the Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C., a role based largely on Vaclav Havel.

He was hired for several scenes opposite Angelina Jolie in SALT, directed by Phillip Noyce, released in 2010 by Columbia Pictures.

Juris Zagars was born on 26 January 1961 in Riga, Latvia. He is an actor, known for Dubultnieks (1986), Tumsie briezi (2006) and Pitons (2003).

Vladislav Kovalyov was born on 8 October 1990 in Riga, Latvian SSR, USSR. He is a director and writer, known for Bezvests Pazudusas (2020), Nelugtie Viesi (2023) and The Shot (2019).

Of Jewish origins, Wolf Ruvinskis Manevics was born in 1921 in Riga (Latvia), but fearing persecution during World War II his family relocated to Argentina, where they lived in extreme poverty. In spite of his deprived childhood, Wolf excelled in sports and became interested in wrestling. When he was 19 years old he started his professional career and toured South America, the United States and Mexico, where he decided to stay. Although he stayed on the ring until the 1960s - in matches with top Mexican wrestlers, as El Santo, Black Shadow, El Médico Asesino and Lobo Negro - Wolf was also a tango singer and a magician, and in 1949 he was called to act on the stage and in films. One of his biggest successes was La bestia magnífica (1952), the first in a series of movies centered on Neutron, a character he created. His popularity was firmly established with his role as the handsome rural boy who becomes the victim of a mad scientist in the cult film tt0044416, he was a regular performer in all kinds of movies until the 1990's and was nominated for an Ariel as Best Supporting Actor for Juego limpio (1995). He was also a businessman, and married three times: to Beatriz Perez, to dancer Armida Herrera, and to actress Lilia Michel until his death in 1999.

Rosa von Praunheim was born on 25 November 1942 in Riga, Ostland [now Latvia]. He is a director and writer, known for Anita: Dances of Vice (1987), Horror Vacui (1984) and Tough Love (2015). He was previously married to Carla Egerer.

The multi-talented comedian, pianist, singer and home-spun poet Heinz Erhardt was born in Riga, the son of a successful bandmaster. After his parents split up, he had a somewhat unsettled upbringing, spent, alternately, with his mother in St. Petersburg, with his grandparents in Riga and with his father in Hannover. Forced to change school some fifteen times, he eventually completed his education -- though failing to matriculate -- and commenced musical studies at the Leipzig Conservatory under the distinguished concert pianist and educator Professor Robert Teichmüller. He then had a stint as a piano salesman, but soon put his talents to better use 'tickling the ivories' and performing as a cabaret artist and stand-up comic in cafés and on radio in Danzig. He made his proper stage debut at the Riga Schauspielhaus in 1932 in a play, for which he had also composed the music. Then followed several years of financial hardship supporting his new family, a wife and four children. However, in 1938 he was invited by the actor and emcee Willi Schaeffers to join the popular satirical revue Kabarett der Komiker in Berlin. Erhardt quickly established a singular reputation as humorist, as well as persisting with his musical vocation. Though a non-swimmer, he was conscripted to serve as a pianist with the orchestra of the German Navy during the Second World War.

After the war, he resumed work on the stage in Hamburg and had a huge national hit as presenter of a weekly radio series ("So was Dummes") which spotlighted his forte for spontaneous wit, pun poetry and double entendre. Eventually, the screen beckoned, initially finding him cast in minor supporting parts or as a singing pianist. As his radio fame grew, the bespectacled, cherubic, corpulent Erhardt became an instant cinematic favorite. His starring debut in Der müde Theodor (1957) was a box-office blockbuster, followed with a back-to-back hit in Widower with 5 Daughters (1957). A kind of querulous equivalent to Hollywood's S.Z. Sakall, Erhardt often lampooned bourgeois values and philistine preoccupations. Thus, even his more irritating characters, like Paul Perlacher in Der Haustyrann (1959), were never dislikeable.

In order to escape his typecasting as a comedian, Erhardt founded his own television production company in 1961, though the venture lasted a mere two years.The public seemed more than reluctant to accept Erhardt in any genre other than comedy. Following this disappointment, he returned to the small screen, inevitably in his familiar comic guises, including a recurring role as good-hearted but hapless taxation officer Willi Winzig. He also proceeded to publish several best-selling compilations of his comic poetry and profited from numerous record sales of his live performances. Sadly, in December 1971, Erhardt suffered a paralysing stroke and lost the facility of speech, which effectively put an end to his career. He died eight years later in Hamburg at the age of seventy, six months after receiving Germany's highest award, the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Federal Cross of Merit).

Ilze Taurins was born on 29 August 1933 in Riga, Latvia. She is an actress, known for Burke's Law (1963), The Wild Wild West (1965) and The Gallant Men (1962).

Maxim Busel is a prominent young Latvian stage and film actor. Best known for his solo performance as Tim Tuni in The Legend of the Pianist. 1900. For this role, was nominated for Best Actor 2018 at "The Night of the Artist" award, the highest recognition in Latvian theatre and also a contender for Best Performance 2018. From 2015 til 2018, four years in a row, won the People's choice award as Best Young Actor at the Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theater awards ceremony. A versatile actor, singer, musician and dancer, Maxim has leading roles at the Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre in various genres. He is also involved in numerous projects as a performer, composer, songwriter. Fluent in English, Russian (native) and Latvian and, as Max says about his French, 'un petite peu'. Born in Riga, Latvia. Early on, Maxim pursued a musical education as a choir conductor and pianist, having graduated with honors was granted the opportunity to study at the Rimsky Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia. Maxim's passion for acting prevailed and he left school a year early to begin his theatrical studies at the Latvian Academy of Culture. He was accepted into the exclusive Russian Theater course, and enrolled at once in the 2nd year of studies, while simultaneously completing his secondary school education. He graduated the Latvian Academy of Culture with a Bachelor of Arts in Stage and Film Acting in 2014. In 2015 Maxim Busel was nominated for the highest cinema award in Latvia, the "Big Kristaps" as Actor of the Year for the leading role "Maxim" in the short film Dance of Death directed by Vlad Kovalev. In 2019 he was lead in Ukrainian TV-series Zoya as Anton, the Prime Minister's rich son, directed by Pavel Tupik (RU/UA). In 2018-2019 played a bit role as the Young Jean Weiner (French actor, composer and pianist) in the American feature film Paris Song by Jeff Vespa (USA) Also in 2018 he had a leading role as Nikolay Pandchenko, a famous singer, rock star in the Ukrainian TV film Chicken by Roman Brovko (UA). Maxim was also a composer of the soundtrack for this project. Leading role of 'Maxim' in the short film On One Breath (2018-2019) based on Jean Cocteau's play The Ghost of Marseille directed by Maria de Valukhoff (RU). Supporting role of Mercutio in the full-length drama Romeo n' Juliet by Maris Martinsons (LV/LT) in 2011. Maxim currently resides in Riga and is open to new, unique projects in Europe and enjoys working abroad.

Agata Mutsenietse was born on 1 March 1989 in Riga, Latvian SSR, USSR. She is an actress, known for Zakrytaya shkola (2011), Solovey-Razboynik (2012) and Podval Gospodina Grinberga (2023). She was previously married to Pavel Priluchnyy.

Oskars Vilnitis-Pantelejevs was born on 10 April 1992 in Riga, Latvia. He is an art director, known for Doctor Strange (2016), Men in Black: International (2019) and Life (2017).

Nikita Tarasov was born on 3 December 1979 in Riga, Latvian SSR, USSR. He is an actor, known for Attraction (2017), Forgotten Experiment (2023) and Battle for Sevastopol (2015).

Michael Idov was born on 9 July 1976 in Riga, Latvian SSR, USSR [now Latvia]. He is a writer and composer, known for The Humorist (2019), Leto (2018) and Deutschland 89 (2020).

Vladimir Koshevoy was born on 1 September 1976 in Riga, Latvian SSR, USSR [now Latvia]. He is an actor, known for Crime and Punishment (2007), Petropolis (2022) and Liturgiya oglashennykh (2018).

Alexander Hahn was born on March 23, 1967 in Riga, Latvia (former USSR), to Olga Hahn, a textile specialist, and Waldemar Hahn, an X-ray engineer, tank commander, wrestling champion and passive dissident. Alexander left the Soviet Union together with his parents and his big family - ice-hockey trainer Georg Hahn (uncle), fish selling dancing queen Paula Hahn (grandmother), asthmatic railroad gardener Erwin Hahn (grandfather) and one-toothed Miriamija Zaikina (great-grandmother) - when he was 10 years old. He grew up in Bavaria, Germany. Alexander attended a language school in Munich for a year. He finally became a student at the Vienna Film Academy. At a film festival, he became an interpreter of the Latvian filmmakers Ivars Seleckis and Talivaldis Margevics. And a short time later he was able to shoot his first 35mm short feature film in Latvia. That was just before the Baltic states declared their independence from the Soviet Union. Alexander Hahn is a German citizen. He immigrated to Austria in 1989, graduated from the Vienna Filmacademy in 1996. His first feature film "Far Away From St. Petersburg" received 1993 the Gold Special Jury Award at the Houston International Film Festival and was shown at the AFI Film Festival in Los Angeles. Worked with: Maria DE Medeiros, Chulpan Khamatova, Dominique Pinon, Tobias Moretti, Orlando Wells, Birgit Minichmayr, Detlev Buck, Roland Düringer, Otto Grünmandl, Yevgenia Kryukova, Daniil Spivakovsky, Erni Mangold, Aurelija Anuzhite, Igor Klass, Gundars Abolins, Justin Krish, Jerzy Palacz, Milanka Comfort, Bakhtyar Khudojnazarov, Reinhard Schwabenitzky, Hubert Sauper, Markus Pöchinger.

Victor Janson was born on 25 September 1884 in Riga, Russian Empire [now Latvia]. He was an actor and director, known for The Oyster Princess (1919), Die Dame in Schwarz (1920) and The Doll (1919). He died on 29 June 1960 in West Berlin, West Germany.

Yuriy Bogatyryov was born on 2 March 1947 in Riga, Latvian SSR, USSR [now Latvia]. He was an actor, known for A Few Days from the Life of I.I. Oblomov (1980), Myortvye dushi (1984) and Poslednyaya okhota (1980). He died on 2 February 1989 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].

Alan Melikdjanian is the son of a well-known Soviet-era Russian circus performer Vilen Melikdjanian. At a very young age, he developed impressive drawing skills, designing characters and worlds in countless caricatures and comic strips. He considered pursuing a career in animation, but eventually his interests evolved into filmmaking. Alan started his early attempts at films typically: armed with a friend's wind-up 8mm camera and a series of old books about trick photography. At age 12, Alan immigrated to the United States with his family. He began to study film academically. As a student he created a series of ambitious projects that incorporated good story-telling and creative use of subtle (and not so subtle) visual effects. Directing the short film "The Realm" earned him a Best Thesis Director award at film school. He graduated from college with a BFA Degree in Film Production. Quickly gaining several professional credits as director, he has continued to work in other capacities, such as editor, visual effects supervisor and composer.

Natalia Ryumina is a Latvian born British actress. She grew up in a multilingual family, speaking Russian, Latvian, Ukrainian, English and German. After graduating from Jazep Medin Riga School of Music, where she had trained as a classical singer, she moved to London to study at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and work with the world famous American acting coach Jack Waltzer. During her studies she also worked as a fashion model for various designers, including Vivienne Westwood, and was the lead singer in a British heavy metal band Into The Woods. Her first television appearance was in a BBC drama Holby City, followed by a number of other productions, including Waterloo Road and Moving On. Her film work includes feature films Their Finest by Lone Scherfig, and most recently, Anton by Oscar nominated Zaza Urushadze and The Inheritance by Chad Barager and Kevin Speckmaier.