Atlanta Ballet has hired former San Fran­cisco Ballet principal Gennadi Nedvigin to become the company's fourth leader. He stepped into the role in July, after longtime artistic director John McFall retired on June 1. "I could have danced longer, but I wanted to prioritize this opportunity," explains Nedvigin of his recent retirement from the stage. "It will work best if I do one thing."

While at San Francisco Ballet, Nedvigin's experience included working as a ballet master and stager of Yuri Possokhov's works, in addition to dancing lead roles in a wide variety of repertoire. When he staged Possokhov's Classical Symphony for Atlanta Ballet in 2014, Nedvigin was very impressed with the company. "I also enjoyed the sense of closeness among the dancers and the family atmosphere," he adds.