Olesya Novikova (russian: Олеся Новикова) is a Russian ballet dancer. She is a
principal dancer
A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company.
A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, p ...
with the
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...
.
She was born in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
and studied at the
Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet
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 ...
. Upon graduation, she joined the Mariinsky Theatre; she has toured with them in Great Britain, Germany and China. Novikova won a prize at the International Vaganova-Prix Ballet Dancers' Competition in 2002.
Novikova created the female lead role in ''Du Côté de chez “Swann”'' by Alexei Miroshnichenko. In 2011, she played the lead role in the ballet ''Raymonda''.
In 2021, Novikova was promoted to the rank of Principal dancer of the
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...
.
She is married to
Leonid Sarafanov
Leonid Sarafanov (born 28 June 1982 in Kyiv, Ukraine) is a principal ballet dancer with the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St Petersburg, Russia.
Biography
Leonid Sarafanov studied at the Kyiv State School of Choreography and graduated in 2000, joining ...
, with him they have 4 children: Alexei (born 2010), Ksenia (born 2015), Alexander (born 2018) and Konstantin (born 2022).
Repertoire
*''
La Sylphide
''La Sylphide'' ( en, The Sylph; da, Sylfiden) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. ...
Jean Coralli
Jean Coralli (15 January 1779 – 1 May 1854) was a French ballet dancer and choreographer, best known for collaborating with Jules Perrot in creating ''Giselle'' (1841), the quintessential Romantic ballet of the nineteenth century.
Early life ...
,
Jules Perrot
Jules-Joseph Perrot (18 August 1810 – 29 August 1892) was a dancer and choreographer who later became Ballet Master of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. He created some of the most famous ballets of the 19th century including ...
La Bayadère
''La Bayadère'' ("the temple dancer") ( 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 staged especiall ...
'' (Nikiya, Gamzatti); choreography by Marius Petipa
* ''The Sleeping Beauty'' (Aurora, La Fee Miettes qui tombent, La Fee Coulante, Fleur de Farine, Gold Fairy, Silver Fairy); choreography by Marius Petipa, version by
Konstantin Sergeyev
Konstantin Mikhaylovich Sergeyev (russian: Константин Михайлович Сергеев; 5 March 1910 (20 February Old Style) – 1 April 1992) was a Russian danseur, artistic director and choreographer for the Kirov Theatre. When th ...
*''The Sleeping Beauty'' (Aurora, Generosity Fairy, Silver Fairy); choreography by Marius Petipa, version by
Sergei Vikharev
Sergei Vikharev (Russian: Сергей Геннадьевич Вихарев) (15 February 1962 – 2 June 2017) was a Russian ballet dancer, choreographer and historian.
Biography
Sergei Vikharev was born in Saint Petersburg and trained at the ...
*'' Swan Lake'' (Odette-Odile, Pas de trois, Cygnets); choreography by Marius Petipa
*''
Raymonda
''Raymonda'' (russian: Раймонда) is a ballet in three acts, four scenes with an apotheosis, choreographed by Marius Petipa to music by Alexander Glazunov, his Opus 57. It was first presented by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Mariinsk ...
'' (Raymonda, grand pas, variation); choreography by Marius Petipa
*''
Le Réveil de Flore
''Le Réveil de Flore'' ( en. ''The Awakening of Flora''), ( ru. «Пробуждение Флоры», ''Probuzhdenie Flory'') is a ''ballet anacréontique'' in one act, with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Riccardo Drigo, to a libre ...
'' (Flore); choreography by Marius Petipa
* ''Don Quixote'' (Kitri, Flower Girl, Variation in Act IV); choreography by
Alexander Gorsky
Alexander Gorsky (August 6, 1871 – 1924), a Russian ballet choreographer and a contemporary of Marius Petipa, is known for restaging Petipa's classical ballets such as ''Swan Lake'', ''Don Quixote'', and ''The Nutcracker''. Gorsky “sought grea ...
*'' Chopiniana'' (Nocturne, Eleventh Waltz); choreography by
Michel Fokine
Michael Fokine, ''Mikhail Mikhaylovich Fokin'', group=lower-alpha ( – 22 August 1942) was a groundbreaking Imperial Russian choreographer and dancer.
Career Early years
Fokine was born in Saint Petersburg to a prosperous merchant an ...
Rostislav Zakharov Rostislav Vladimirovich Zakharov (russian: Ростислав Владимирович Захаров; September 7, 1907 – January 15, 1984) was a Soviet and Russian choreographer, ballet dancer and opera director. He was a professor at the Russia ...
*''
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 Tchai ...
'' (Masha); choreography by
Vasili Vainonen
Vasili Ivanovich Vainonen, also spelled Vasily (russian: Васи́лий Ива́нович Вайно́нен) (1901-1964), was a renowned Ingrian Soviet choreographer, mainly for the Kirov Ballet, now known as the Mariinsky Ballet, with which h ...
Leonid Lavrovsky
Leonid Mikhailovich Lavrovsky (1905–1967) was a Russian ballet choreographer, most famous for choreographing the first full version of Sergei Prokofiev's ''Romeo and Juliet''.
Early life
Lavrovsky was born in 1905 in St. Petersburg, the son ...
*''Etudes''; choreography by
Harald Lander
Harald Alfred Bernhardt Stevnsborg Lander (25 February 1905 – 14 September 1971) was a Danish dancer, choreographer and artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet.
Lander was born in Copenhagen. He started as a dancer, studying under ballet ...
Kenneth MacMillan
Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. E ...
* ''Apollo'' (Polyhymnia); choreography by George Balanchine
* ''Symphony in C'' (Third Movement); choreography by George Balanchine
* ''The Four Temperaments''; choreography by George Balanchine
* ''Jewels'' (Emeralds, Rubies, Diamonds); choreography by George Balanchine
* ''Ballet Imperial''; choreography by George Balanchine
* ''Theme and Variations''; choreography by George Balanchine
*''Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux''; choreography by George Balanchine
*''The Legend of Love'' (Shyrin); choreography by
Yuri Grigorovich
Yury Nikolayevich Grigorovich (russian: Ю́рий Никола́евич Григоро́вич; born 2 January 1927 in Leningrad) is a Soviet and Russian dancer and choreographer''Carmen Suite'' (Carmen); choreography by
Alberto Alonso
Alberto Julio Rayneri Alonso (22 May 1917 – 31 December 2007) was a Cuban dancer and choreographer, the brother of Fernando Alonso and brother-in-law of Alicia Alonso (née Martinez). He was influential in the development of the Cuban sty ...
*''
Adagio Hammerklavier
''Adagio Hammerklavier'' is a ballet choreographed by Hans van Manen to the ''Adagio'' from Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29, ''Hammerklavier''. The ballet is plotless and danced by three couples. Van Manen made ''Adagio Hammerklavier'' for the ...
''; choreography by
Hans van Manen
Hans Arthur Gerard van Manen (; born 11 July 1932) is a Dutch ballet dancer, choreographer and photographer.
He studied under Sonia Gaskell and Françoise Adret. Van Manen wrote many ballets. He worked for the Dutch National Ballet from 1973 ...
*''5 Tangos''; choreography by Hans van Manen
*''The Nutcracker'' (Masha); production by
Mihail Chemiakin
Mihail Mikhailovich Chemiakin (or Shemyakin, russian: Михаил Михайлович Шемякин, born 4 May 1943) is a Russian painter, stage designer, sculptor and publisher, and a controversial representative of the nonconformist ar ...
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 Rus ...
*''Anna Karenina'' (Anna); choreography by Alexei Ratmansky
*''
The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude
''The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude'' is a ballet choreographed by William Forsythe (choreographer), William Forsythe to the finale of Schubert's Symphony No. 9 (Schubert), Symphony No. 9. The ballet was choreographed for 's programme ''Six Co ...
Pierre Lacotte
Pierre Lacotte (born 4 April 1932) is a French ballet dancer and choreographer who specialised in the reconstruction of lost choreographies of romantic ballets. His mother was an affirmed musician and he manifested very early his interest for da ...
*''Without''; choreography by
Benjamin Millepied
Benjamin Millepied (; born 10 June 1977) is a French dancer and choreographer, who has lived and worked in the United States since joining the New York City Ballet in 1995, where he became a soloist in 1998 and a principal in 2002. He has also ...
*''Le Parc'' (Soloist); choreography by
Angelin Preljocaj
Angelin Preljocaj (; born 19 January 1957) is a French dancer and choreographer of contemporary dance.
Early life
Angelin Preljocaj was born in 1957 in Sucy-en-Brie, France. He is of Albanian descent.
Career
His choreographic work is steeped ...
*''
Les noces
''Les Noces'' (French for The Wedding; russian: Свадебка, ''Svadebka'') is a ballet and orchestral concert work composed by Igor Stravinsky for percussion, pianists, chorus, and vocal soloists. The composer gave it the descriptive title " ...
Victor Gsovsky
Victor Gsovsky (russian: Виктор Иванович Гзовский; 12 January 1902, Saint Petersburg - 14 March 1974, Hamburg) was a Russian ballet dancer, teacher, balletmaster and choreographer.
Biography
He studied with Mariinsky Theatre ...
*''The Meek One'' (the Meek One); choreography by Donvena Pandoursky
*''Flight of Angels'' (Soloist); choreography by
Edwaard Liang
Edwaard Liang (born c. 1975/1976 Also available a. in Taipei, Taiwan) is a Taiwanese-born American dancer and choreographer. He grew up in Marin County, California.
Career
Liang began studying dance at the age of 5. He entered the School of Ame ...
*''Du Cote de chez Swann''; choreography by Alexei Miroshnichenko
*''Nirvana''; choreography by Emil Faski
In 2011, at Teatro alla Scala she appeared in the lead role in the premiere performance of the ballet ''Raymonda'' (production by
Sergei Vikharev
Sergei Vikharev (Russian: Сергей Геннадьевич Вихарев) (15 February 1962 – 2 June 2017) was a Russian ballet dancer, choreographer and historian.
Biography
Sergei Vikharev was born in Saint Petersburg and trained at the ...