Russian-born dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov was twenty-six when he arrived in Canada in 1974 as part of a touring troupe of the Kirov and Bolshoi ballets. Unhappy that his government would not allow him to dance with other companies throughout the world (his lifetime ambition), Baryshnikov decided to defect to the West. On 29 June 1974 he abruptly left his troupe and sought political asylum with the Canadian government. There was an instant furor in the American press. Baryshnikov made his American debut in New York with the American Ballet Theater (ABT) in July, dancing Giselle with Natalia Makarova, who had defected in 1970. His reception was nothing short of adulation. Within a week he was a superstar, selling out houses, earning thirty-minute standing ovations, and giving the ABT the biggest box-office season in its history. He also caused a stir when he persuaded ballerina Gelsey Kirkland to leave...