Igor Yebra Iglesias (born August 1, 1974,

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

) is a Spanish freelance ballet dancer.

Early life

Igor Yebra was born in Bilbao, Spain, and was encouraged to start dancing by his parents, two music and dance enthusiasts who named him Igor in honour of the title character in Borodin's

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

. Surrounded by ballet and music during his childhood, primarily due to his parents' dance school, Igor never considered becoming a professional dancer and, just like other Spanish children, he dreamed of being a football player. It was only after his parents took him to see

Aram Khachaturyan Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; rus, Арам Ильич Хачатурян, , ɐˈram ɨˈlʲjitɕ xətɕɪtʊˈrʲan, Ru-Aram Ilyich Khachaturian.ogg; hy, Արամ Խաչատրյան, ''Aram Xačʿatryan''; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet Union, Sovie ...

's ballet ''

Spartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprisin ...

'', starring the Bolshoi's

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the office holder/ or boss in any school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in ...

Vladimir Vasiliev, that he became aware of the masculinity that ballet could have, and started attending classes locally. He then moved to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

where he entered

Victor Ullate The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French sho ...

's dance school and started formal training at the considerably late age of 13.

Career

Igor has trained with a multitude of Spanish teachers including Karemia Moreno, Lázaro Carreño, Pino Alosa and Ángela Santos. He started dancing professionally with Ullate's company, ''Ballet de la Comunidad de Madrid'' while still a student in Madrid. He graduated with honours from the ''Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza''. Igor remained with the company for six years, eventually becoming a principal. During this time he danced various contemporary and neo-classical ballets, including pieces from choreographers

Van Manen Van Manen is a Dutch toponymic surname meaning "from ", a former town in Gelderland now part of Ede.Nils Christie Nils Christie (24 February 1928 – 27 May 2015) was a Norwegian sociologist and criminologist. He was a professor of criminology at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo. Personal life Christie was born in Oslo on 24 February 1928, a son of ...

, Amodio,

Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

, Micha Van Hoecke y and Ullate himself. Yebra started his career as a freelance dancer at the end of 1996 and joined Australian Ballet as a guest, despite receiving offers from recognized companies like 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' ...

, Ballet Estable del Teatro Colón,

Scottish Ballet Scottish Ballet is the national ballet company of Scotland and one of the five leading ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet. Founded in 196 ...

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, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

. He is mostly recognized as a ''

danseur noble A ''danseur noble'' traditionally was a male ballet dancer who projected great nobility of character. Over the last century the term has been used to define a male principal dancer who performs at the highest theatrical level combining grace with ...

'' and it is from the time he left Ullate's company that he managed to expand his classical and romantic repertoire to include various choreographed versions of ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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. ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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-� ...

'', ''

Les Sylphides ''Les Sylphides'' () is a short, non-narrative '' ballet blanc'' to piano music by Frédéric Chopin, selected and orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov. The ballet, described as a "romantic reverie","Ballet Theater", until 1955. A compact dis ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' The Sleeping Beauty'' and variations from '' Le Corsaire'' and ''

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 ...

''. His contemporary repertoire is an array of neoclassical-type ballets, including

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

's ''

Theme and Variations In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve melody, rhythm, harmony, counterpoint, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these. Variation techniques Mozart's Twelve Va ...

'', ''Concerto Barroco'', ''

Allegro Brillante ''Allegro Brillante'' is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 3. The ballet is danced by a principal couple and a corps de ballet of eight. Balanchine said it "contains everything I knew about classic ...

'' and ''

Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux ''Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux'' is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to a composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky originally intended for act 3 of ''Swan Lake'' (Op. 20, 1875–76). With costumes by Barbara Karinska and lighting by Jack Owe ...

''. He has appeared as a guest artist with Aterballetto, Ballet à l'opera de Nice,

Ballet Nacional de Cuba The Cuban National Ballet ( es, Ballet Nacional de Cuba) is a classical ballet company based at Great Theatre of Havana in Havana, Cuba, founded by the Cuban prima ballerina assoluta, Alicia Alonso in 1948. The official school of the company is ...

, Ballet Nacional de Venezuela, Kremlin Ballet Theatre, the Bolshoi, the Kirov,

, Rome Opera Ballet,

Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson's, J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teache ...

Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (LNOBT) ( lt, Lietuvos nacionalinis operos ir baleto teatras) is an opera house and ballet theatre in Vilnius, Lithuania. It is the largest theatre of the country, committed to organising the creati ...

and the

Arena di Verona The Verona Arena ( it, Arena di Verona ) is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy built in 30 AD. It is still in use today and is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best ...

Ballet and is a guest principal with the Ballet de l'Opéra National de Bordeaux. As from 2001 he is a permanent guest and principal dancer with the Ballet de l'Opéra National de Bordeaux and the Rome Opera Theatre Ballet. January 2004 marked his debut at the Kremlin Theatre dancing the title role in

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

's ballet ''

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Iv ...

'', and making him the first non-Russian to dance such role. He has created roles in various pieces including ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opér ...

'', ''

La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on '' La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his o ...

'', ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

'', ''

The Dying Swan ''The Dying Swan'' (originally ''The Swan'') is a solo dance choreographed by Mikhail Fokine to Camille Saint-Saëns's ''Le Cygne'' from '' Le Carnaval des animaux'' as a ''pièce d'occasion'' for the ballerina Anna Pavlova, who performed it ab ...

'' and ''Don José''.

Personal life

He married

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous c ...

television presenter

Anne Igartiburu Anne Igartiburu Verdes (born 18 February 1969 in Elorrio, Biscay, Spain) is a Spanish Basque television presenter and actress. Biography She studied Industrial Marketing. She started working in the local television of Mondragón in 1993. She ...

in September 2004, from who he separated soon after, in December 2005. Igor realised one of his biggest dreams in 2006 when he opened a dance school in his hometown of

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

.Escuela de danza y coreografía - IGOR YEBRA
/ref> He's still a big football fan and supporter of his local team "

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country of Spain. They are known as ''Los Le ...

Awards

* The Jury's Special Contemporary Prize at the '' Eurovision Grand Prix for Young Dancers, Paris, 1989''. *Best Dancer of the Year Award by ''"DANZA & DANZA Magazine"'', Italy, 1996. *Second Male Prize at ''The II International "

Maya Plisetskaya Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya (russian: link=no, Майя Михайловна Плисецкая; 20 November 1925 – 2 May 2015) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, choreographer, ballet director, and actress. In post-Soviet times, she he ...

" Ballet Competition'', 1996. *''Leonidas Massine'' Award, Italy, 2003.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yebra, Igor Living people 1974 births Basque artists People from Bilbao Spanish male ballet dancers