Croatia choreographer Milko Sparemblek dead at 96

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.