Farukh Sadullayevich Ruzimatov (; born 26 June 1963) is an Uzbek-Russian

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

dancer. Since 2018, Ruzimatov has been artistic director of the ballet company at Navoi Theatre in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

, Uzbekistan. In a dancing career spanning more than three decades, Ruzimatov was mostly associated with the

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...

, where he was the principal dancer and assistant artistic director of the company.

Biography

Ruzimatov was born in

Uzbek SSR The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (, ), also known as Soviet Uzbekistan, the Uzbek SSR, UzSSR, or simply Uzbekistan and rarely Uzbekia, was a union republic of the Soviet Union. It was governed by the Uzbek branch of the Soviet Communist P ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(now

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

). Ruzimatov enrolled in the Vaganova Academy in 1973 in Leningrad, where he trained under Gennady Selyutsky. Upon his 1981 graduation, Ruzimatov began dancing with the

Kirov Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet () is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's ...

and became a principal dancer in 1986. His repertoire includes such roles as Albrecht in ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' ( , ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (; ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet () in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, it was first perfor ...

'', Solor in ''

La Bayadère ''La Bayadère'' ("the temple dancer") ( ru. «Баядерка», ''Bayaderka'') is an 1877 ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by the French choreographer Marius Petipa to music by Ludwig Minkus and libretto by . The ba ...

'', Golden Slave in ''Shéhérazade'', Ali in ''

Le Corsaire ''Le Corsaire'' is a ballet typically presented in three acts, with a libretto originally created by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges loosely based on the poem '' The Corsair'' by Lord Byron. Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to ...

'', Prince Desire in '' The Sleeping Beauty'', The Prince in ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

'', Siegfried in ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

'', Basil in ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'', and many others. He has also performed as principal guest artist with the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...

. From 2007 to 2009, he was artistic director of the ballet at the Mikhailovsky Theatre. Since 2018, Ruzimatov is artistic director of the ballet company at Navoi Theatre in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Partnerships

Ruzimatov has had many successful partnerships, but the two most well known are probably his collaboration with Yulia Makhalina in Kirov productions of ''Giselle'' and ''La Bayadere'', and he partnered Larissa Lezhnina in her Kirov debut as Aurora in the 1989 production of ''The Sleeping Beauty''. He went on to partner her in '' Diana and Acteon'', but as she left the Kirov to become a soloist for the Dutch National Ballet in 1994, their promising collaboration was cut short. But the strongest partnership was with

Altynai Asylmuratova Altynai Abduakhimkyzy Asylmuratova (, ''Altynai Abduahimqyzy Asylmūratova''; born 1 January 1961) is a Kazakh-born former ballerina who is artistic director of the ballet company at Astana Opera. She is a former prima ballerina with the Kirov ...

. The couple were most seen dancing together in the ballet

, but when Asylmuratova retired, Ruzimatov was later dancing with

Diana Vishneva Diana Viktorovna Vishneva (''also Romanization of Russian, trans.'' Vishnyova; ; born 13 July 1976) is a Russian ballet dancer who performs as a principal dancer with the Mariinsky Ballet (formerly the Kirov Ballet). Personal life Vishneva wa ...

in the early 2000s.

Awards

* Honoured Artist of Russia (1995) * People's Artist of Russia (2000) * Honoured Artist of Tajikistan (1988) * Silver Medallist of the Sixth Varna International Competition (1983) * Special diploma by the Paris Academy of Dance *

Prix Benois de la Danse The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and ...

(1997) * Prizewinner of Baltika prize (1998)

References

External links

* (Russian and English) * (Russian and English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruzimatov, Farukh Mariinsky Ballet principal dancers Dancers from Tashkent 1963 births Living people Russian male ballet dancers Prix Benois de la Danse winners 20th-century Russian ballet dancers