Baryshnikov joined the Kirov Ballet in 1967 and soon became acclaimed worldwide as a soloist.

After defecting "on artistic, not political grounds" while in Toronto in 1974, he worked with various companies, becoming director of the American Ballet Theatre in 1980.

He has created many roles, notably in Push Comes to Shove (1976, music by Haydn/J. Lamb) and Jerome Robbins' Opus 19 (1979, Prokofiev).

He made his film debut in Turning Point (1978).