Igor Anatolyevich Zelensky (; born 13 July 1969) is a Russian

ballet dancer A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...

Early life

Zelensky was born on 13 July 1969, in

Labinsk Labinsk (; Adyghe language, Adyghe: Чэтыун, ‌Čʼătəun) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the Bolshaya Laba River (a tributary of the Kuban (river), Kuban) southeast of Krasnodar ...

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and is administratively a part of the Southern Federal District. Its administrative center is the t ...

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

. He was a principal at the

Mariinsky 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 ...

from 1991 until 2013. He graduated from the Tbilisi School of Ballet (class of

Vakhtang Chabukiani Vakhtang Mikheilis dze Chabukiani (March 12, 1910April 6, 1992) was a Soviet and Georgian ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher. He is considered to be one of the most influential male ballet dancers of the 20th century, and is noted for crea ...

) and trained at the

Vaganova academy The Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet is a school of classical ballet in St Petersburg, Russia. Established in 1738 during the reign of Empress Anna, the academy was known as the Imperial Ballet School until the Soviet era, when, after a brief hi ...

(class of Gennady Selutsky).

Career

Zelensky was a principal for five years at the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...

. His roles include

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lord Montague, Lord Montague and his wife, Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lady Montague, Lady Montague, he ...

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

and 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 ...

. He has performed around the world, including with the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

in London, at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

in Milan, at the

Bayerische Staatsoper The Bavarian State Opera () is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Ele ...

in Munich and with the

. Zelensky served as the Artistic Director of the

Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre The Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre (the official title is the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre ()) is a theatre in Novosibirsk and Siberia. It is located at the center of Novosibirsk at Lenin square. The building was c ...

(2006–2015) as well as the

Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre The Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre () is a music theatre in Moscow. The Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre was founded in 1941 when two companies directed by the legendary ...

(2011–2016). From 2016 to 2022, he was the Ballet Director of the

Bayerisches Staatsballett The Bavarian State Ballet () is a professional ballet company in Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in German ...

; he resigned on 4 April 2022 due to "private family reasons" after failing to denounce the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, and was summoned by the German Science and Arts Ministry to explain his links to a cultural heritage foundation tied with the Russian state. Serge Dorny, the general director of

Bavarian State Opera The Bavarian State Opera () is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under El ...

, had inadvertently told Russian pranksters

Vovan and Lexus Vladimir Aleksandrovich Kuznetsov (, or Krasnov, nicknamed Vovan222, born 11 November 1986) and Aleksei Vladimirovich Stolyarov (born 16 September 1987), jointly known as Vovan and Lexus (), are Russian comedians noted for their Prank call, pra ...

that Zelensky "didn't make that decision on his own", and said, "We had a conversation, and I brought him to this conclusion."

Personal life

Zelensky is reportedly the partner of

Katerina Tikhonova Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova ( rus, Катерина Владимировна Тихонова, , kətʲɪˈrʲinə ˈtʲixənəvə, Putina, Путина; born 31 August 1986) is a Russian scientist, manager, and former acrobatic dancer. S ...

, the second daughter of Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

. They reportedly have a daughter, born 2017.

Notes

References

External links