The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as en pointe, pointe work, turnout (ballet), turnout of the legs, ...

company based at 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 ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest

ballet companies A ballet company is a type of dance troupe that performs classical ballet, neoclassical ballet, and/or contemporary ballet in the European tradition, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-round b ...

. In the early 20th century, it came to international prominence as Moscow became the capital of

Soviet Russia 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 ...

. The Bolshoi has been recognised as one of the foremost ballet companies in the world. It has a branch at the Bolshoi Ballet Theater School in

Joinville Joinville () is the largest city in Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the Southern Brazil, Southern Region of Brazil. It is the third largest municipality in the southern region of Brazil, after the much larger state capitals of Curitib ...

, Brazil.

History

The earliest iteration of the Bolshoi Ballet can be found in the creation of a dance school for a Moscow orphanage in 1773. In 1776, dancers from the school were employed by Prince Pyotr Vasilyevich Urusov and English theatrical entrepreneur

Michael Maddox Michael Maddox (; 1747–1822) was an English entrepreneur and theatre manager active in Russia. He was co-founder, with Prince Urusov, of the Petrovsky Theatre, the first permanent opera theatre in Moscow and predecessor of the Bolshoi Theatre. ...

to form part of their new theatre company. Originally performing in privately owned venues, they later acquired the Petrovsky Theatre, which, as a result of fires and erratic redevelopment, would later be rebuilt as today's Bolshoi Theatre. While some guest dancers come and go from other prestigious ballet companies, such as Mariinsky and

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. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...

, most company dancers are graduates of the academy. In 1989, Michael Shannon was the first American ballet dancer to graduate from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and join the Bolshoi Ballet company. Despite staging many famous ballets, it struggled to compete with the reputation of the Imperial Russian Ballet, today's

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 ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. It was not until the appointment of

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 greate ...

as Ballet Master in 1900 that the company began to develop its own unique identity, with acclaimed productions of new or restaged ballets including ''

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 ...

'' (1900), ''

Coppélia ''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Éti ...

'' (1901), ''

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 ...

'' (1901), ''

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'' (1903), ''

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 ...

'' (1911), ''

Le Corsaire ''Le Corsaire'' is a ballet typically presented in three acts, with a libretto originally created by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges loosely based on the poem '' The Corsair'' by Lord Byron. Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to ...

'' (1912) and ''

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 ...

'' (1917). The Soviet leadership's preference for uncomplicated moral themes in the arts was demonstrated in

Yuri Grigorovich Yury Nikolayevich Grigorovich (; 2 January 1927 – 19 May 2025) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, ballet master, choreographer, and pedagogue who dominated the Russian ballet for 30 years, especially as artistic director of the Bolshoi B ...

's appointment as director i
1964
Grigorovich held his position until 1995, at which point a series of directors, including Boris Akimov,

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 ...

, Yuri Burlaka and

Sergei Filin Sergei Yurevitch Filin (; born 27 October 1970) is a Russian ballet dancer and the former artistic director of the Bolshoi Theater from 2011 through 2016. He is currently the Director of the Young Artists Ballet Program at the Bolshoi Theatre. ...

, brought more modern dance performance ideas to the company.

Repertoire

* ''A Hero of Our Time'', Yuri Possokhov * ''A Legend of Love'',

* ''Anna Karenina'',

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 ...

* ''Anyuta'', Vladimir Vasiliev * ''

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

'',

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

* '' Carmen Suite'',

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 style ...

* ''

'',

Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (; born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa; 11 March 1818) was a French and Russian ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. He is considered one of the most influential ballet masters and choreographers in ballet history ...

and

Enrico Cecchetti Enrico Cecchetti (; 21 June 1850 – 13 November 1928) was an Italian ballet dancer, mime, and founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers from Civitanova Marche, he was born in the costuming room of the ''Teatro Tordinona'' in ...

; Revived by

Sergei Vikharev Sergei Vikharev (Russian: Сергей Геннадьевич Вихарев) (15 February 1962 – 2 June 2017) was a Russian ballet dancer, choreographer of reconstructions and historian. Biography Sergei Vikharev was born in Saint Petersburg ...

* ''

'', Marius Petipa and

; Revived by Alexei Fadeyechev * ''

Études Études (French for "studies") or Étude may refer to: Compositions * Étude, a type of instrumental musical composition designed to provide practice material * ''Études'' (Chopin), by Frédéric Chopin, 1829–1839 * ''Études'' (Debussy), 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 ...

* ''Forgotten Land'',

Jiří Kylián Jiří Kylián (born 21 March 1947) is a Czech former dancer and contemporary dance choreographer. He is considered one of the greatest contemporary dance choreographers in Czech history. Life Jiří Kylián was born in 1947 in Prague, Czecho ...

* ''Frank Bridge Variations'',

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 ...

* ''

'',

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 lif ...

and

Jules Perrot Jules-Joseph Perrot (18 August 181029 August 1892) was a French 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 ' ...

; Version of Yuri Grigorovich * ''

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow, Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar of all Russia, Tsar and Grand Prince of all R ...

'', Yuri Grigorovich * ''

Jewels A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

'', George Balanchine * ''

La Bayadere LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

'', Marius Petipa; Version of Yuri Grigorovich * '' La Fille du pharaon'',

Pierre Lacotte Pierre Lacotte (4 April 1932 – 10 April 2023) was a French ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher, and company director. He specialised in the reconstruction of lost choreographies of romantic ballets. Early life Lacotte was born on 4 April 19 ...

* ''

La Fille mal gardée LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

'',

; Version of Yuri Grigorovich * ''

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 ...

'',

August Bournonville August Bournonville (21 August 1805 – 30 November 1879) was a Danish ballet master and choreographer. He was the son of Antoine Bournonville, a dancer and choreographer trained under the French choreographer, Jean Georges Noverre, and the ne ...

; Version of Johan Kobborg * '' Lady of the Camellias (La Dame aux camelias)'',

* ''

'', Marius Petipa; Version of

and Yuri Burlaka * ''Nureyev'' * ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

'', Yuri Grigorovich * ''Ondine'', Vyacheslav Samodurov * '' Onegin'',

John Cranko John Cyril Cranko (15 August 1927 – 26 June 1973) was a South African ballet dancer and choreographer with the Royal Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet. Life and career Early life Cranko was born to Herbert and Grace Cranko in Rustenburg in ...

* ''

Raymonda ''Raymonda'' () is a ballet, grand ballet in three acts, four scenes with an apotheosis, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Alexander Glazunov (his Opus number, opus 57) and libretto by Lydia Pashkova. ''Raymonda'' was creat ...

'', Marius Petipa; Version of Yuri Grigorovich * ''

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 ...

'', Yuri Grigorovich * ''Romeo and Juliet'', Alexei Ratmansky * '' Russian Seasons'', Alexei Ratmansky * ''Short Time Together'', Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon * ''

Spartacus Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Historical accounts o ...

'', Yuri Grigorovich * ''

'', Marius Petipa; Version of Yuri Grigorovich * ''Symphony of Psalms'',

Jiri Kylian Jiri () is a municipality in Dolakha District in the Bagmati Province of central Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 13,638 people. Jiri, which lies about 190 kilometers from Kathmandu, is the main gateway to the ...

* '' The Bright Stream'', Alexei Ratmansky * ''

The Cage The Cage may refer to: Sports * West Fourth Street Courts, also known as "The Cage", as of 1978, a public venue for amateur basketball in New York City * Al-Shorta Stadium, 1990–2014, former football stadium of Al-Shorta SC, nicknamed "The Cag ...

'',

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

* '' The Flames of Paris'', Vasily Vainonen, Version of Alexei Ratmansky * '' The Golden Age'', Yuri Grigorovich * '' The Sleeping Beauty'', Marius Petipa; Version of Yuri Grigorovich * ''Taming of the Shrew'', Jean-Christophe Maillot

Notable staff

Dancers

Galina Ulanova Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova (, ; 21 March 1998) was a Russian ballet dancer. She is frequently cited as being one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. Biography Ulanova was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Both parents were the so ...

* Marina Semyonova * Olga Lepeshinskaya *

Mikhail Mordkin __NOTOC__ Mikhail Mordkin (; December 9, 1880, Moscow, Russian Empire – July 15, 1944, New York) graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography, Bolshoi Ballet School in 1899, and in the same year was appointed ballet master. He join ...

Vasily Tikhomirov Vasiliy Dmitriyevich Tikhomirov (1876–1956) was a dancer (from 1895) and a choreographer (from 1913) with the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow, Russia. His most distinguished production was '' The Red Poppy'' (1927), with his wife Yekaterina Geltzer i ...

Yekaterina Geltzer Yekaterina Vasilyevna Geltzer (November 2, 1876 – December 12, 1962) was a prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet who danced in the theatre from 1898 to 1935. She was the daughter of the famous Russian dancer Vasily Geltzer. She worked with Marius ...

Asaf Messerer Asaf Mikhailovich Messerer (; 19 November 1903 – 7 March 1992) was a Soviet ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer. He was born in Vilnius, Lithuania. In 1919 he studied privately with Mikhail Mordkin, until Alexander Gorsky placed him in a cl ...

Maya Plisetskaya Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya (; 20 November 1925 – 2 May 2015) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, choreographer, ballet director, and actress. In post-Soviet times, she held both Lithuanian and Spanish citizenship.

* Pyotr Gusev *

Aleksey Yermolayev Aleksey Nikolayevich Yermolayev (Russian: Алексе́й Никола́евич Ермола́ев; 12 December 1975) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher. He played an important role in the development of Russian b ...

Nikolai Fadeyechev Nikolai Borisovich Fadeyechev (27 January 193323 June 2020) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, teacher, and répétiteur of the Bolshoi Ballet. He was awarded People's Artist of the USSR in 1976. Biography Fadeyechev was bo ...

* Maris Liepa *

Ekaterina Maximova Ekaterina Sergeyevna Maximova (; 1 February 1939 – 28 April 2009) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian Ballet dancer, ballerina of the second part of the 20th century who was internationally recognised. She was a prima ballerina of the Bol ...

* Vladimir Vasiliev *

Natalia Bessmertnova Natalia Igorevna Bessmertnova () was a Soviet prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet and a People's Artist of the USSR (1976). Life Natalia Bessmertnova was born in Moscow in 1941 and trained at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography from 1 ...

Ludmila Semenyaka Ludmila Semenyaka () is a Soviet Union, Soviet ballerina, born in Saint Petersburg, Leningrad.Nadezhda Pavlova Nadezhda Vasilyevna Pavlova (; born 15 May 1956) is a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer. People's Artist of the USSR (1984). Life and artistic output Nadia Pavlova liked to dance from an early age. At 7 she began to dance with a group at the Ho ...

* Joy Womack * Svetlana Adyrkhaeva * Marina Kondratyeva * Nina Timofeeva * *

Irek Mukhamedov Irek Dzhavdatovich Mukhamedov OBE (: ; born 8 March 1960), is a Soviet-born British ballet dancer of Tatar origin who has danced with the Bolshoi Ballet and the Royal Ballet. Born in Kazan, he trained at the Moscow Choreographic Institute und ...

* Alexander Godunov * *

Nina Ananiashvili Nina Ananiashvili (born Nino Ananiashvili; ka, ნინო ანანიაშვილი; born March 19, 1963) is a Georgian ballerina and artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia. She has been described by the ''Daily Telegraph' ...

* Dmitry Belogolovtsev *

Natalia Osipova Natalia Petrovna Osipova (; 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 formal ballet training at the age of nine at the Mikha ...

Svetlana Lunkina Svetlana Aleksandrovna Lunkina (; born 29 July 1979) is a Russian-Canadian ballerina who is a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. Biography Lunkina was born in Moscow and attended the Moscow Choreographic Academy. Upon her gr ...

* Dmitry Gudanov *

Anna Antonicheva Anna Antonicheva () is a ballerina and People's Artist of Russia, who was a principal dancer of Bolshoi Ballet. Biography Antonicheva was born in 1973 in Baku, Azerbaijan, and was a graduate of the Baku Ballet School. In 1988, she won both the gol ...

Nikolay Tsiskaridze Nikolay Maximovich Tsiskaridze PAR (; ka, ნიკოლოზ ცისკარიძე, ''Nik'oloz Cisk'aridze'') is a Georgian-Russian ballet dancer who had been a member of the Bolshoi Ballet for 21 years (1992–2013). Biography Ea ...

* Maria Allash * Nina Kaptsova

Directors

* Vladimir Urin

Conductors

* * Yuri Fayer *Algis Shuraitis

Choreographers

Rostislav Zakharov Rostislav Vladimirovich Zakharov (; September 7, 1907 – January 15, 1984) was a Soviet and Russian choreographer, ballet dancer and opera director. He was a professor at the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) in Moscow (1946–1983). Zakha ...

Leonid Lavrovsky Leonid Mikhailovich Lavrovsky (; 18 June 1905 – 26 November 1967) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer and choreographer, most famous for choreographing the first full version of Sergei Prokofiev's ''Romeo and Juliet''. Early life Lavrov ...

Fyodor Lopukhov Fyodor Vasilyevich Lopukhov (; 20 October 1886, Saint Petersburg – 28 January 1973, Leningrad) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer and choreographer. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1956). Training and dance career Lopukhov was born into a f ...

Yury Grigorovich Yury Nikolayevich Grigorovich (; 2 January 1927 – 19 May 2025) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, ballet master, choreographer, and pedagogue who dominated the Russian ballet for 30 years, especially as artistic director of the Bolshoi B ...

Composers

* Dimitri Shostakovich *

Aram Khachaturian Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet Armenians, Armenian composer and conductor. He is considered one of the leading Music of the Soviet Union#Classical music of the Soviet Union, Soviet composers. Khachaturian was born and rai ...

Company structure

Today the Bolshoi Ballet remains one of the world's foremost ballet companies, in addition to being one of the largest, with approximately 220 dancers. The word "bolshoi" means "big" or "grand" in Russian. The company operates on a hierarchical system, similar to those used by other leading European ballet companies, with senior dancers ranked as principals, and descending in order of importance through lead soloist, first soloist, soloist and finally, corps de ballet. Due to its size, the company operates two troupes of corps de ballet. In 2000, the Bolshoi Ballet opened its first Ballet Academy outside Russia, in

, Brazil.

Performance style

The performance style of the Bolshoi Ballet is typically identified as being colourful and bold, combining technique and athleticism with expressiveness and dramatic intensity. This style is commonly attributed to

. Historically there has been a fierce rivalry with the St. Petersburg Heritage Ballet Company, the Mariinsky. Both have developed very different performing styles: the Bolshoi has a more colourful and bold approach, whereas the Mariinsky is associated with more pure and refined classicism.

Dancers

Principal dancers

Source: Female *Elizaveta Kokoreva *Alena Kovaleva * Ekaterina Krysanova * Anna Nikulina * Evgenia Obraztsova * * Yekaterina Shipulina (working under contract) * Anastasia Stashkevich *Yulia Stepanova * Svetlana Zakharova Male * *Semyon Chudin *Egor Gerashchenko * Vladislav Lantratov * Mikhail Lobukhin * Vyacheslav Lopatin * Artem Ovcharenko * * Denis Savin *

Ruslan Skvortsov Ruslan Vasilyevich Skvortsov (; born 31 January 1980) is a Russian principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet. Biography Ruslan Skvortsov was born in Yelets, Lipetsk Oblast, where he received his early training from Elena Timofeyeva, and then studie ...

(working under contract) *Dmitry Smilevsky * *Alexander Volchkov (working under contract)

Leading soloists

Female *Arina Denisova * Kristina Kretova *Olga Marchenkova *Eva Sergeyenkova *Margarita Shrayner *Maria Vinogradova Male * Dmitry Vyskubenko

First soloists

Female *Daria Khokhlova *Anastasia Meskova *Anna Tikhomirova Male *Mark Chino *Klim Efimov *Daniil Potaptsev *Alexei Putintsev *Alexander Vodopetov *Denis Zakharov

Soloists

Female *Anastasia Chapkina *Anastasia Denisova *Yulia Grebenshchikova *Olga Kishnyova * *Maria Koshkaryova *Elizaveta Kruteleva *Sofia Maymula *Uliyana Moksheva *Anastasia Smirnova *Alexandra Trikoz * *Ekaterina Varlamova *Anastasia Vinokur *Angelina Vlashnets *Viktoria Yakusheva *Ksenia Zhiganshina Male *Georgy Gusev *Egor Khromushin *Anton Savichev *Alexander Smoliyaninov

Corps de ballet

The Bolshoi Ballet operates two troupes of corps de ballet, with approximately 169 dancers in total.

Controversies

In 2013, ballerina Anastasia Volochkova claimed that female dancers were forced to sleep with wealthy patrons, saying: "It mainly happened with the corps du icballet but also with the soloists. ..I repeatedly received such propositions to share the beds of oligarchs." American dancer Joy Womack echoed this concern when she left the company after being told that, to secure solo roles, she must either pay $10,000 or "start a relationship with a sponsor." In January 2013, a

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, ...

attack on art director

once again steeped the company in scandal. Bolshoi dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko was convicted of organizing the attack and was sentenced to six years in prison. Reasons for the attack include corruption within the company. In 2014, 25-year-old ballet dancer Olga Demina mysteriously went missing. In September 2020, Russian investigators announced that they believe Demina may have been killed in a blackmail plot by Malkhaz Dzhavoev, whom she was dating and was allegedly her "manager". In July 2017, the Bolshoi Theatre cancelled the premiere of a ballet about openly gay Soviet dancer

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of his generation as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all ...

. The Director General claimed that it was due to poor dancing quality; however, principal dancer

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 ...

claimed it was the first sign of a 'new era' of censorship. It was the first time a show has been pulled in such a way since the collapse of the Soviet Union, sparking rumours about the motivation behind the move.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Ballet companies in Russia National Dance Award winners History of ballet

History

Repertoire

Notable staff

Dancers

Directors

Conductors

Choreographers

Composers

Company structure

Performance style

Dancers

Principal dancers

Leading soloists

First soloists

Soloists

Corps de ballet

Controversies

See also

References

External links