He graduated from the Russian Imperial Ballet School in Saint Petersburg in 1904, and that same year he became a dancer with Mariinsky Ballet.
In 1908 and 1909 he ran a European tour with Anna Pavlova.
He then collaborated with Diaghilev's Ballet Russes in Paris, along with several other dancers from Mariinsky.
In 1916 Diaghilev decided to tour the USA. While on tour Bolm was injured and left the tour to stay in the US. He went on to organize Ballet Intime in New York. Later he collaborated with the New York Metropolitan Opera.
In 1919 he moved to Chicago where he stayed and worked before moving in 1929 to California. He continued work, staging ballets until 1947.
