
Ivan Vladimirovich Vasiliev (born 9 January 1989) is a Russian
ballet dancer
A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...
and choreographer.
He graduated from the
Bielorussian Ballet School in 2006.
Early on, he won prizes that include First Prize and Best Dancer Prize at the
Arabesque-96 Ballet Competition in Perm in 2005, First Prize at the
Moscow International Ballet Competition
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million r ...
in 2006, Special Distinction of the
Varna International Ballet Competition
The Varna International Ballet Competition is a biennial ballet competition held in Varna, Bulgaria. The competition was founded in 1964 and subsequently held in 1965 and 1966, and then every two years starting in 1968. Many dancers have gained th ...
in 2006, Rising Star of Soul of Dance Award in 2008, one of "25 to Watch" of ''Dance'' Magazine 2008,
Benois Prix de la Danse in 2009, Virtuosity Prize of International Dance Open in Saint Peterburg in 2010, followed by the Grand Prix the following year, Best Dancer of 2011 UK Critic's Award. In 2014 he was granted the title of "Honoured Artist of Russia". In 2015, by public poll, he was awarded Discovery of the Year QG Prize, for his first ballet evening as choreographer.
Career
Vasiliev joined the Bolshoi Ballet in the end of 2006, as first soloist. When 2010 came to an end he had already performed the leading roles in ''
Le Corsaire'', ''
Flames of Paris
''Flames of Paris'' or ''The Flames of Paris'' (russian: Пла́мя Пари́жа) is a full-length ballet in four acts, choreographed by Vasily Vainonen with the stage director Sergei Radlov to music by Boris Asafyev based on songs of the F ...
'', ''
Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
'', ''
Giselle
''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance cano ...
'', ''La Fille Mal-Gardée'', ''Spartacus'', ''
Petrouchka
''Petrushka'' (french: link=no, Pétrouchka; russian: link=no, Петрушка) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1911 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company ...
'', ''
The Nutcracker
''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...
'', ''
La Esmeralda'', ''
La Bayadère
''La Bayadère'' ("the temple dancer") (Russian language, ru. «Баядерка», ''Bayaderka'') is a ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by French choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. The ballet was ...
'' and been promoted to the rank of principal of the
Bolshoi Ballet; he was the last dancer to be coached by
Roland Petit
Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets.
Life and work
The son of shoe designer Rose ...
in the role of Le Jeune Homme, and had joined The Kings of The Dance international group of male dancer stars.
Vasiliev and
Natalia Osipova
Natalia Petrovna Osipova (russian: Наталья Петровна Осипова; born 18 May 1986) is a Russian ballerina, currently a principal ballerina with The Royal Ballet in London.
Early life and training
Born in Moscow, Osipova began ...
, his then-fiancée, left the Bolshoi in the end of 2011, in the search for wider artistic horizons. They both became principals of the Mikhailovsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, with plenty of freedom to perform worldwide as guests.
Vasiliev became a regular guest principal at 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, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...
,
La Scala and the Bolshoi. He also performed leading roles in Mariinsky Theatre, Stanislavsky Theatre, Novosibirsk Theatre, English National Ballet, Bayrisches Staatsballet, and the Australian Ballet. The Kings of The Dance initiative brought him through many countries during 5 years. In 2015 he became regular principal also in the Novosibirsk Theatre.
Beginning in 2015, Vasiliev started to dedicate himself to choreography too. He staged an evening in the spring of 2015 with short pieces, an evening with three one-act ballets in the spring with 2016, and a full length Christmas ballet the following winter. In May 2016, one more one-act ballet was presented in the scope of Project for Young Choreographers in Bolshoi.
Repertoire
Full length ballets
Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
- Marius Petipa, in the versions by Alexei Fadeyechev, Mikhail Messerer and Rudolph Nurejev
Flames of Paris - Vasily Vainonen, in the versions by
Alexei Ratmansky
Alexei Osipovich Ratmansky (russian: Алексей Осипович Ратманский, born August 27, 1968) is a Russian-American choreographer and former ballet dancer. From 2004 to 2008 he was the director of the Bolshoi Ballet. He left Ru ...
and Mikhail Messerer
Le Corsaire - Marius Petipa, in the versions of Alexey Ratmansky and Mikhail Messerer
La Bayadére - Marius Petipa, in 3 versions of Vakhtang Chabukiani, Natalia Makarova and Yuri Grigorovitch
Spartacus - Yuri Grigorovitch
Ivan The Terrible - Yuri Grigorovitch
The Prodigal Son - Georges Balanchine
The Sleeping Beauty - in the versions of Nacho Duato and Marius Petipa
Giselle - Marius Petipa and in the versions of Yuri Grigorovitch, Vladimir Vasiliev
The Nutcracker - Yuri Grigorovich
Lost Illusions - Alexey Ratmansky
La Fille Mal Gardé - Sir Frederick Ashton
Romeo and Juliet - in 3 versions, of Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Sir Frederick Ashton and Nacho Duato
The Bright Stream - Alexey Ratmansky
Coppelia - Marius Petipa, in 2 versions of Sergei Vikharev and Enrique Martinez
The Swan Lake - Marius Petipa, in versions of Derek Lane (Siegfried), Mikhail Messerer (Evil Sorcerer), Kevin MacKenzie (Rothbarth)
La Sylphide - James Bournounville
Laurencia - Vakhtang Chabukiani, version by Mikhail Messerer
Notre-Dame - Roland Petit
Cippollino - Genrikh Mayorov
A Christmas Carol - Ivan Vasiliev
One Act Ballets
Class Concert
Halt de la Cavallerie
L'Arlesiénne
Le Jeune Homme et La Mort
Labyrinth of Solitude
Le Spectre de La Rose
For 4
Jazzy Five
Ko'D
Mercy
Passo
Facada
Mozart and Salieri
Petroushka
Sheherazade
Shostakovitch Piano Concert
Blind Affair
Morphine
Love is Everywhere
Natasha's First Ball
Independent short Ballets
Rossini PDD
Serenata PDD
The Talisman PDD
Underwood
Kamarinskaya
The Skydivers
See also
*
List of Russian ballet dancers
This is a list of ballet dancers from the Russian Empire, Soviet Union, and Russian Federation, including both ethnic Russians and people of other ethnicities. This list includes as well those who were born in these three states but later emigra ...
References
External links
*https://web.archive.org/web/20110621234333/http://www.bolshoi.ru/en/theatre/ballet_troupe/soloists/index.php?act26=info&id26=842&id30=1584
*http://www.ardani.com/projects-vasiliev.php
*https://web.archive.org/web/20080905175742/http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_07/aug07/interview_ivan_vasiliev.htm
*http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/7838728/Ivan-Vasiliev-rocket-man.html
*http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/first-night-the-bolshoi-ballet-royal-opera-house-2030487.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasiliev, Ivan
Living people
1989 births
Russian male ballet dancers
People from Vladivostok
Bolshoi Ballet principal dancers