Alexei Osipovich Ratmansky (russian: Алексей Осипович Ратманский, born August 27, 1968) is a Russian-American

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

and former

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 ...

. From 2004 to 2008 he was the director of the Bolshoi Ballet. He left Russia in 2008. As of April 2014 he was the artist in residence 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 ...

Training and performance career

Ratmansky was born in St. Petersburg and trained under Pyotr Pestov and

Alexandra Markeyeva Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

at the Bolshoi Ballet School. He graduated in 1986. He then danced in Kyiv and was a principal dancer with the

Ukrainian National Ballet The Kyiv Opera group was formally established in the summer of 1867, and is the third oldest in Ukraine, after Odessa Opera and Lviv Opera. The Kyiv Opera Company perform at the National Opera House of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko in Ky ...

Royal Winnipeg Ballet The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also ...

and

Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world and originates from 1748, when th ...

Choreographic and administrative careers

Ratmansky's choreographic career first became notable with his staging of the ballet '' Dreams of Japan'' for the

State Ballet of Georgia The State Ballet of Georgia is the ballet company of the Z. Paliashvilil Opera and Ballet State Theatre in Tbilisi . Nina Ananiashvili has been artistic director since 2004. Its repertory includes works by Ashton, Balanchine, Bournonville, Kylián, ...

in 1998. ''Dreams'' and ''Charms of Mannerism'', choreographed in 1997, were both created for Nina Ananiashvili. ''Dreams'' earned the Golden Mask Award from the

Theatre Union of Russia Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

. Ratmansky is noted for restaging traditionally classical ballets for large companies. His first three-act story ballet was ''Cinderella'', created for the Kirov Ballet in 2002. Ratmansky's 2003 staging of '' The Bright Stream'' (also translated as "The Limpid Stream") for the Bolshoi Ballet led to his appointment as artistic director of that company the following year. While there he also made a full-length production of ''

The Bolt ''The Bolt'' (russian: Болт), Op. 27, is a ballet music score written by Dmitri Shostakovich between 1930 and 1931 to a libretto by . The humorous and satirical full-length ballet in three acts and seven scenes was choreographed by Fyodor ...

'', in 2005, and re-staged '' Le Corsaire'' and the ''

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 ...

'', in 2007 and 2008. The Critics' Circle in London has named the Bolshoi "Best Foreign Company" under Ratmansky's direction, in 2005 and 2007, and he received its

National Dance Award The National Dance Awards are presented annually in the United Kingdom by The Critics' Circle, and are awarded to recognise excellence in professional dance. They are widely regarded as the most prestigious award presented for dance in the UK, ...

for ''The Bright Stream''. After his directorship at the Bolshoi, Ratmansky agreed to become the first artist in residence for the

in 2008 after negotiations with 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' ...

failed over the position of resident choreographer. His ballets for the New York City Ballet include '' Russian Seasons'' and ''

Concerto DSCH ''Concerto DSCH'' is a ballet by Alexei Ratmansky choreographed for the New York City Ballet to the music of Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102 (1957). The premiere took place on Thursday, May 29, 2008, at the New Yor ...

'', and for the American Ballet Theatre, '' On the Dnieper'' and '' Seven Sonatas''. In 2011, his choreography of Prokofiev's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'' was premiered by the National Ballet of Canada in Toronto. Its performance in London earned Ratmansky the praise from ''New York Times'' reviewer

Alastair Macaulay Alastair Macaulay is an English writer and dance critic. He was the chief dance critic for '' The New York Times'' from 2007 until he retired in 2018. He was previously chief dance critic at '' The Times'' and Literary Supplement and chief theater ...

of being "the most gifted choreographer specializing in classical ballet today." In 2014, Ratmansky took his career in a new direction when he reconstructed Marius Petipa's final revival of ''

Paquita ''Paquita'' is a ballet in two acts and three scenes originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to music by Édouard Deldevez and Ludwig Minkus. Paul Foucher received royalties as librettist. History ''Paquita'' is the creation of French com ...

'' from the Sergeyev Collection. The reconstruction was premièred in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

in December 2014, performed by the Bavarian State Ballet. In March 2015, he mounted his second Petipa reconstruction for

- '' The Sleeping Beauty'', which premièred in Orange County and was later staged at the

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

. Ratmansky is currently reconstructing the Petipa/Ivanov 1895 staging of ''

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

'', which was premièred in Zurich in February 2016.

Choreographed works

' *1988: ''La Sylphide-88'', ''Duet-buff #1 & 2'' *1993: ''Pas de Graham'' *1994: ''The Fairy's Kiss'', ''Alborada'', ''Whipped Cream'', ''98 steps'' *1995: ''Hurluburlu'', ''Poor Little Things'' *1996: ''Sarabande'' *1997: ''Charms of Mannerism'', ''Capriccio'', ''Krakowyak'', ''Old Juniet's Carriol'' *1998: ''Dreams of Japan'', ''Middle Duet'', ''Poem of Extazy'', ''Fairy's Kiss'' (2nd version) *1999: ''Water'', ''Chrizantemums'' *2001: ''Turandot's Dream'', ''Flight to Budapest'', ''Leah'', ''The Nutcracker'' *2002: ''Cinderella'', ''Vers la Flamme'', ''The Firebird'' *2003: ''The Bright Stream'', ''Carnaval des Animaux'', ''Bolero'' *2004: ''Anna Karenina'', ''Leah'' (2nd version) *2005: ''The Bolt'', ''Jeu de cartes'' *2006: '' Russian Seasons'' *2007: ''Le Corsaire'' (after Mazilier & Petipa, with Yuri Burlaka), ''Old Women Falling Out'' *2008: ''Biset Variations'', ''Pierrot Lunaire'', ''

'', ''Flames of Paris'' (after Vainonen) *2009: ''The Little Humpbacked Horse'', ''Valse-Fantasie'', ''On the Dnieper'', ''Scuola di Ballo'', ''Seven Sonatas'' *2010: ''Don Quixote'' (after Petipa & Gorsky), ''Namouna'', ''Fandango'', ''The Nutcracker'' (2nd version) *2011: ''Lost Illusions'', ''Dumbarton'', ''Psyche'', ''Romeo & Juliet'' *2012: ''Souvenir d'un Lieu Cher'', ''Symphonic Dances'', ''The Firebird'' (2nd version), ''The Golden Cockerel'', ''Symphony No. 9'' *2013: ''24 Preludes'', ''From Foreign Lands'', ''Chamber Symphony'', ''Piano Concerto No. 1'', ''Cinderella'' (2nd version), ''Opera'', ''The Tempest'' *2014: ''Tanzsuite'', ''

Pictures at an Exhibition ''Pictures at an Exhibition'', french: Tableaux d'une exposition, link=no is a suite of ten piano pieces, plus a recurring, varied Promenade theme, composed by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874. The piece is Mussorgsky's most famous pia ...

'', ''Rondo Capriccioso'' *2016: ''Serenade After Plato’s Symposium'' *2017: ''Whipped Cream'', ''Odessa'', ''Songs of Bukovina'', Romeo & Juliet *2022: ''Wartime Elegy''

Reconstructions

*2014: ''Paquita'' *2015: ''The Sleeping Beauty'' *2016: ''Swan Lake'' *2018: ''Harlequinade'', La Bayadère'' *2019: Giselle

Awards

Ratmansky received the 2005 and 2014

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 ...

for choreography for, respectively, ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, «Анна Каренина», p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever writte ...

'', put on for the

, and ''Shostakovich Trilogy'' and ''The Tempest'', put on for the

. He also received the 2007 Golden Mask Award for Best Choreographer for '' Jeu de Cartes'' choreographed for the Bolshoi Ballet. In 2013, Ratmansky was named as the MacArthur Fellow of the year, an award that came with "genius grant" for "working in any field, who "show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work". (http://www.macfound.org/fellows/900/)

References

External links

ABT website

"Dance of Death" by Judith Mackrell
an article in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

''
Archive film of Alexei Ratmansky's Charms of Mannerism in 1999 at Jacob's Pillow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratmansky, Alexei 1968 births Living people American Ballet Theatre Choreographers of Bolshoi Theatre Prix Benois de la Danse winners Royal Danish Ballet principal dancers Royal Winnipeg Ballet principal dancers Russian male ballet dancers Choreographers of New York City Ballet Choreographers of American Ballet Theatre *Alexei Ratmansky MacArthur Fellows 20th-century Russian ballet dancers