ALEXEI RATMANSKY

Alexei Ratmansky has been Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Ballet since January 2004. Previously he was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet. Trained at the Ballet School of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, he danced with Ukrainian National Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet before joining the Royal Danish Ballet as a soloist in 1997. He was promoted to principal dancer in 2000. Mr. Ratmansky has performed leading roles such as Basil in Don Quixote, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, Albrecht in Giselle, James in La Sylphide, and Copain in Gaité Parisienne. He has also danced soloist roles in Grass, Mahler's 5th Symphony, A Folk Tale and Suite en Blanc. Mr. Ratmansky was awarded First Prize at the Ukrainian Ballet Competition in 1998, the Gold Medal at the Moscow Diaghilev Competition in 1992, and the Nijinsky Prize in 1992. In 1999, he created his first ballet, Betwix, as a participant in the Choreographer Workshop at the Royal Danish Ballet. His other works include Turandot's Dream, which was performed as part of the Shaken - Not Stirred program at the Old Stage of the Royal Theatre, The Nutcracker and Anna Karenina for The Royal Danish Ballet. Poem of Ecstasy, The Fairy's Kiss, Middle Duo and Cinderella for The Maryinsky Ballet, as well as Capriccio, Dreams About Japan, The Bright Stream, Leah, and Bolt for the Bolshoi Ballet.