ZAGREB, Feb 26, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Croatian dancer and choreographer Milko
Sparemblek, a renowned ballet director in New York, Lisbon and Lyon, died in
the capital Zagreb at age 96, the national theatre announced.

"His artistic legacy is certainly the most significant and extensive in our
entire dance history," said the theatre's statement, adding that Sparemblek
passed on Tuesday.

The choreographer was born in neighbouring Slovenia and moved to the Croatian
capital as a child, where he went on to study literature and classical
ballet.

In 1948, he joined the national theatre, where he starred in leading roles,
before moving to Paris five years later to further study ballet.

A member of several renowned dance troupes -- including the prestigious
Maurice Bejart's Ballet of the 20th Century where he was a ballet master --
Sparemblek also studied contemporary dance in New York with Martha Graham and
Jose Limon.

In the 1970s, he worked as the director of the New York Metropolitan Opera
Ballet for three years, followed by stints with Lisbon's Gulbenkian Ballet
and Lyon Ballet.

From 1992 to 1994, he was the ballet director of the Croatian national
theatre in Zagreb.

Throughout his career, Sparemblek staged more than a hundred ballets, operas,
and dramas, and starred in several films and televised specials.

His work has been staged in major European cities including Athens, Brussels,
Lisbon, London, and Paris along with New York, Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere.

A literature and philosophy aficionado, Sparemblek was also an advocate for
the benefits of exercise -- a practise he continued into old age.

"The body is an instrument, and if it's in bad condition, so will be the
choreography," he told local media in 2018.