He studied with Mariinsky Theatre prima ballerina Evgenia Sokolova and started his teaching career while still very young.
From 1930 to 1933 he worked as a choreographer for the German UFA Film Company and undertook smaller tours with his wife and the Ballet Gsovsky.
[3] After leaving Munich he worked as a choreographer and ballet master in several European locations.
He staged the first post-war production of La Sylphide for the Ballets des Champs-Élysées in 1946.
An influential teacher, his students included Yvette Chauviré, Nina Vyroubova, Colette Marchand, Violette Verdy, and Vera Zorina.