Artem Nikolayevich Yachmennikov (born 25 February 1983) is a ballet artist, soloist and premier at leading theaters, including the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...

and

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 ...

Biography

Yachmennikov started dancing at age 6, with Russian folk dances in the choreographic ensemble "Mozaika" in

Saint-Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. In 1993, at age 10, he passed a 3-tour exam for 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 h ...

. He was known as a hardworking student. His main teachers at the Academy were L. Melnikova, P. Silkin, and A. Garbuz. Yachmennikov graduated with high marks in 2001 and was immediately invited to join the troupe at the

. His teacher at the time was Rejepmyrat Abdyyew. At 18 years old, Yachmennikov debuted in the ballet ''

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 ...

'' as Espada. During those years, he had many solo parts in the ballet repertoire, including Steptext (William Forsythe) and Le Corsaire (Birbanto). In 2006, Yachmennikov accepted an invitation from the

Dutch National Ballet The Dutch National Ballet ( Dutch: Het Nationale Ballet) is the official and largest ballet company in the Netherlands. Its forerunners were Ballet Der Lage Landen, Ballet of the Nederlandse Opera, Amsterdam Ballet, and Netherlands Ballet (Nederl ...

and went to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

to perform as a principal dancer there. His teachers were Rinat Gizatulin and Guillaume Graffin. During that time, Russian ballet legend,

Natalia Makarova Natalia Romanovna Makarova (, born 21 November 1940) is a Russian prima ballerina and choreographer. ''The History of Dance'', published in 1981, notes that "her performances set standards of artistry and aristocracy of dance which mark her a ...

, came to the Dutch National Ballet to rehearse with its dancers. When she saw Yachmennikov's rehearsal of Solor in the ballet

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 ...

, she recommended him as a soloist for this ballet. Yachmennikov debuted the role successfully and became a regular soloist for the next two years. He performed in leading parts in ballets such as ''La Bayadere'' (Solor), ''La Sylphide'' (James), ''The Sleeping Beauty'' (Prince Desire), ''Romeo and Juliet'' (Romeo), ''Coppelia'' (Franz), ''Sarcasmen'', ''

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 ...

'' (Hans Van Manen), and ''Black Cake''. (Hans Van Manen) In 2008, Yachmennikov went back to Russia. From 2008 until 2011, he performed as the first soloist at the

in Moscow. His teacher during this time was an honored artist of Russia, Boris Akimov. At the Bolshoi, he performed in many classical and modern ballets: ''Les Sylphides'' (Poet), ''Symphony in C'' (George Balanchine), ''Serenade'' (George Balanchine), and ''Russian Seasons'' (Alexei Ratmansky). In 2009, Yachmennikov participated in the Korea International Ballet Competition, winning a silver medal. He also performed as a guest-principal dancer in the ballet ''Swan Lake'' (Prince Siegfried) at the

Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (LNOBT) (), founded as Operos vaidykla, is an opera house and ballet theatre in Vilnius, Lithuania. History Operos vaidykla was founded in 1920 by the Society of Lithuanian Creators of Art in the ...

. Yachmennikov participated in many gala-concerts in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. In 2010, Yachmennikov accepted an invitation from the

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...

and performed there as a principal dancer from 2010 until 2011. Other ballets from his repertoire include: ''Giselle'' (Albrecht), ''The Nutcracker'' (Prince, Snow King) by Helgi Tomasson, and ''Symphony in C'' (George Balanchine). Unfortunately, his career was interrupted because of a serious injury to his ankle, suffered while rehearsing a new ballet. After undergoing surgery, he returned and danced as a guest artist in theaters around the world. He collaborated with the Charity Fund of Maris Liepa, led by Andris Liepa, and performed in a world tour with his project ''Russian Seasons'', dancing in ''Scheherazade'' (Golden Slave), ''Cleopatra/Ida Rubinstein'' (Robert de Montesquiou), choreographed by Patrick de Bana, and ''The Firebird'' (Ivan-Tsarevich). Yachmennikov was invited to perform at the premiere of the Primorsky Theatre of Ballet and Opera in

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

and an author's ballet, ''14 Symphony'', was choreographed by A. Akhmetov especially for him. Throughout his career, Yachmennikov worked with choreographers such as

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 to ...

Rudi van Dantzig Rudi van Dantzig (4 August 1933 – 19 January 2012) was a Dutch choreographer, company director, and writer. He was a pivotal figure in the rise to world renown of Dutch ballet in the latter half of the twentieth century. He was co-director and ...

John Neumeier John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He was the director and principal choreographer of Hamburg Ballet from 1973 to 2024 and the artistic director of the ballet at the Hamburg State ...

, Peter Wright,

Alexei Ratmansky Alexei Osipovich Ratmansky (, born August 27, 1968) is a Russian-Ukrainian-American choreographer and former ballet dancer. From 2004 to 2008 he was the director of the Moscow Bolshoi Ballet. He left Russia in 2008. In 2009 he was appointed the ar ...

, William Forsythe, Patrick de Bana and

Francesco Ventriglia Francesco Ventriglia (born 9 June 1978) is an Italian ballet dancer, choreographer and artistic director. He is currently the Artistic Director of Alberta Ballet. In 2010 he was appointed as Europe's youngest artistic director by the Florence ...

. His partners included Svetlana Zakharova,

Ilze Liepa Ilze Marisovna Liepa (; born 22 November 1963 in Moscow) is a Russian ballet dancer and actress. She has been a soloist ballerina at the Bolshoi Theatre since 1981. She was invested with the title of Merited Artist of the Russian Federation in ...

, Sofiane Sylve, Yuanyuan Tan,

Igone de Jongh Igone de Jongh (born 9 September 1979) is a Dutch ballerina and a former principal dancer with the Dutch National Ballet. She is featured in the music video for Anouk (singer), Anouk's song Birds (Anouk song), ''Birds'', the official Netherlands i ...

Larissa Lezhnina Larisa Lezhnina () is a principal dancer with Dutch National Ballet, Amsterdam. She was born on March 17, 1969, in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia. She graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy in Leningrad in 1987 and joined the Kirov Balle ...

Maria Alexandrova Maria Aleksandrovna Alexandrova (; born 20 July 1978) is a Russian principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet, People’s Artist of Russia. Biography Alexandrova was born in Moscow, Russian SFSR, and attended the Moscow Choreographic Academy. Sh ...

, and Maria Abashova. In 2014, Yachmennikov performed on Italian TV in ''Ballando Con Le Stelle'' of

Milly Carlucci Camilla Patrizia "Milly" Carlucci (born 1 October 1954) is an Italian television presenter, actress and singer. Carlucci played the role of Urania in the 1985 film ''The Adventures of Hercules''. In 1996 she became a Goodwill ambassador for UNI ...

on RAI UNO to the song of the famous Italian singer,

Gigi D'Alessio Luigi "Gigi" D'Alessio (born 24 February 1967) is an Italian popular singer and singer-songwriter from Naples. In his career, he has sold over 30 million records. Camorra repentant Luigi Giuliano stated that D’Alessio success was initially fu ...

Repertoire

* ''

Nutcracker A nutcracker is a tool designed to open nuts by cracking their shells. There are many designs, including levers, screws, and ratchets. The lever version is also used for cracking lobster and crab shells. A decorative version, a nutcracker doll ...

'' : Prince, Snow King * ''

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 ...

'' : Romeo * ''

La Sylphide ''La Sylphide'' (; ) 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. Bournonville's is the only ve ...

'' : James * ''

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 ...

'' : Prince Siegfried * ''

'' : Solor * ''

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 ...

'' : Albrecht * ''

Serenade In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honour of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Ital ...

'': Soloist * ''

The Firebird ''The Firebird'' (; ) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Michel Fokine, who c ...

'' : Ivan-Tsarevich * ''

Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov) ''Scheherazade'', also commonly ''Sheherazade'' ( rus, Шехеразада, Shekherazada, ʂɨxʲɪrɐˈzadə), Op. 35, is a symphonic suite composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888 and based on ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (also known a ...

'' Golden Slave * ''

The Sleeping Beauty (ballet) ''The Sleeping Beauty'' ( ) is a ballet in a prologue and three acts to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, his Opus 66, completed in 1889. It is the second of his three ballets and, at 160 minutes, his second-longest work in any genre. The origi ...

'' Prince Désiré

Video

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References

External links

Artem Yachmennikov Bolshoi.ruSan Francisco Ballet Opens its 2011 season with Giselle, a ballet with staying powerDiaghilev Festival Gala ''Swan Lake''San Francisco Ballet’s ''Giselle''World premiere
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yachmennikov, Artem 1983 births Living people Dutch National Ballet principal dancers People from Astrakhan Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet alumni Russian male ballet dancers San Francisco Ballet principal dancers 21st-century Russian ballet dancers