The renowned Latvian dancer remains deeply engaged in his work at the helm of the artistic center that bears his name, and recently joined Pedro Almodóvar for one of the filmmaker’s major nights in the United States
When the third season of And Just Like That premieres later this month, we’ll find out whether Carrie Bradshaw continues her relationship with Aidan — the boyfriend who rivaled the eternal Mr. Big for her heart. Aidan was one of the main draws of the most recent episodes in the Sex and the City sequel, but Carrie’s romantic history includes many names, most of them fleeting.
One however has left lasting imprint: Aleksandr Petrovsky, also known as “The Russian,” who persuaded her to move to Paris. He was played by Mikhail Baryshnikov, now 77 — one of the greatest dancers in history and a leading figure of the prestigious Kirov Ballet. To Clive Barnes, the former dance critic for The New York Times, he was “the perfect dancer.”
The Latvian-born dancer is amused that people who’ve never seen him perform recognize him. “At least they remember something, though they actually don’t remember my real name. They say, ‘oh it’s Alexander Petrovsky,’” he told The Telegraph.
Baryshnikov says that Sex and the City fans approach him more often than fans of anything else he’s done. “The irony of me working in theatre for 40, 50 years and they remember you for that TV show. But that’s fine, I understand why… That’s America!” he told The i Paper.
But he’s grateful for the boost in popularity. “I thought that I would have a couple of months and do a couple of episodes but then they asked me stay for the whole last year. It was a lot of fun.”