Maria Alexandrova

Biography

“Alexandrova’s Kitri is a spicy, carefree beauty any Basilio or Don would fight for, yet she is by no means a cheap tart, as some dancers prefer to think of the character. Perhaps untypical of the traditional Bolshoi dancer, but all the more characteristic of the new generation in this company, there was always enough classical polish to temper the bravura, preventing the ballet from turning into a mere display of continuous circus tricks”.
By Marc Haegeman

“The bright star among the soloists is certainly Maria Alexandrova, who infuses her perfectly shaped classical style with contemporary energy”.
By Anna Kisselgoff

Born in Moscow. In 1997, being a student of Moscow Choreographic Academy, where she studied under Sophia Golovkina, Alexandrova won a Gold medal at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow. In a very short time after that she joined the Bolshoi Ballet. Durig her first season at the Bolshoi theatre she was entrusted with solo parts. Next season she was promoted to soloist. In 2004, she became a principal dancer. It was for the first time when public declaration of promoting happened.
Her coaches at the Bolshoi were Tatiana Golikova, Nina Semizorova. In 2017-22 she was working under contract.

Repertoire

1997
Queen of the Ball (Fantasy on the Casanova Theme to music by W. A. Mozart, choreography by M. Lavrovsky)
1^st variation in Grand Pas (Don Quixote by L. Minkus, choreography by M. Petipa, A. Gorsky in the version by Y. Grigorovich)
Myrtha (Giselle by A. Adam, choreography by J. Coralli, J. Perrot, M. Petipa in the version by Y. Grigorovich)
Maid of Honour (The Sleeping Beauty by P. Tchaikovsky, choreography by M. Petipa, Y. Grigorovich production)

1998
A street dancer (Don Quixote in the version by Y. Grigorovich)
Fairy of Generosity (The Sleeping Beauty)
Soloist (Dreams about Japan; choreography by A. Ratmansky)

1999
all the variations in The Shadows (La Bayadere by L. Minkus, choreography by M. Petipa, Y. Grigorovich production)
Dryad/Three Dryads (Don Quixote)
Soloist Part 4 (Symphony in C to music by G. Bizet, choreography by G. Balanchine) — participant in the premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre
Mazur (Chopiniana; choreography by M. Fokine)
Horse (R. Shchedrin’s The Humpbacked Horse, choreography by N. Androsov)

2000
The Empress (Russian Hamlet to music by L. van Beethoven and G/ Mahler, choreography by B. Eifman)
Kitri (Don Quixote in the version by A. Fadeyechev)
Ramze — creation, Congo (C. Pugni’s La Fille du Pharaon; choreography by P. Lacotte after M. Petipa)
Gamzatti (La Bayadere)

2001
Eleventh Waltz (Chopiniana)
Friend to the Prince, Spanish Bride (Swan Lake by P. Tchaikovsky, choreography by M. Petipa, L. Ivanov, A. Gorsky in the second version by Y. Grigorovich)

2002
Aegina (A. Khachaturian’s Spartacus, choreography by Y. Grigorovich)
Title role (La Sylphide by H. S. Levenskiold, choreography by A. Bournonville in the version by E.M. von Rosen)

2003
Ballerina (D. Shostakovich’s The Bright Stream, choreography by A. Ratmansky)
Clemence (Raymonda by A. Glazunov, choreography by M. Petipa in the version of Y. Grigorovich)
Esmeralda (Notre-Dame de Paris by M. Jarre, choreography by Rolan Petit)
Mekhmene Banu (A. Melikov’s A Legend of Love, choreography by Y. Grigorovich)
Aspicia (La Fille du Pharaon )
Juliet (S. Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet; D. Donnelan and R. Poklitary production) — creation

2004
Lilac Fair (The Sleeping Beauty)
Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux (choreography by G. Balanchine)
Leah (Leah to music by L. Bernstein, choreography by A. Ratmansky, second version)
Hermia (A Midnight’s Summer Dream to music by F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy and G. Ligeti, choreography by J. Neumeier) — participant in the premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre

2005
Miller’s Wife (M. de Falla’s Le Tricorne, choreography by L. Massine) — creation in Russia
Odette-Odile (Swan Lake)
Soloist (Igor Stravinsky’s Jeu de cards, choreography by A. Ratmansky)
Title role (Raymonda)

2006
Carmen (Carmen Suite to music by G. Bizet-R. Shchedrin, choreography by A. Alonso)

2007
Soloist (Misericordes to music by A. Part, choreography by C. Wheeldon) — participant in the world premiere of the ballet
Soloist (In the Upper Room by P. Glass, choreography by T. Tharp)
Medora (Le Corsaire by A. Adam. Production and new choreography by A. Ratmansky and Y. Burlaka after M. Petipa)
part in Class Concert (to music by A.Glazunov, A. Lyadov, A. Rubinstein, D. Shostakovich, choreography by A. Messerer)
Pupil (G. Delerue’s The Lesson, choreography by F. Flindt)

2008
Jeanne (B. Asfiev’s The Flames of Paris, production and new choreography by A. Ratmansky after V. Vainonen) — creation
Variation (was among the creators of the ballet), Paquita (Paquita by L. Minkus, staging and new choreographic version by Y. Burlaka)

2009
Swanilda (Coppelia by L. Délibes, choreography by M. Petipa and E. Cecchetti; revival and new choreographic version by S. Vikharev) — creation at the Bolshoi Theatre
Nikia (La Bayadere)
Esmeralda (C. Pugni’s La Esmeralda, choreography by M. Petipa, production and new choreographic version by Y. Burlaka, V. Medvedev) — creation

2010
Countess (La Dame de Pique to music by P. Tchaikovsky, choreography by R. Petit)
Princess Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty)

2012
Duet (Dream of Dream to music by S. Rachmaninov, choreography by J. Elo)
Sponge-in-Chief (E. Podgayts’ Moidodyr, choreography by Y. Smekalov) — creation

2013
Stove, Waltz, Vacuum Cleaners (Kvartira, music by Fleshquartet, choreography by M. Ek) — participant of the premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre

2014
Katharina (The Taming of the Shrew to music by D. Shostakovich, choreography by J.-C. Maillot)

2015
Leading couple (Classical Symphony to music by by S. Prokofiev, choreography by Y. Possokhov)
Giselle (Giselle in the version by Y. Grigorovich)

Tours

In 1997, she appeared in a gala concert of Russian ballet stars, dedicated to Sergei Diaghilev, at New York’s Lincoln Center: together with Nikolai Tsiskaridze she danced the Grand Classical Pas to music by Daniel Auber (choreography Viktor Gzovsky).
In 2000, she took part in a gala concert of ballet stars in Madrid (partner Igor Iebra).
In 2001, she danced the lead roles in Don Quixote, with Bolshoi Theatre soloist Mark Peretokhin, at the Bashkir Theatre of Opera and Ballet, as part of the Rudolf Nureyev International Festival of Ballet.
In the same year, she danced the Soloist Part 1 in Between Sky and Earth (choreography Trey McIntyre) at the Alexey Fadeyechev Theatre of Dance and she created the role of Kitri in the Moskva Russian Chamber Ballet production of Don Quixote (Mikhail Lavrovsky version).
In 2001-02, she danced Myrtha in a series of performances of Giselle with star casts (Julia Makhalina, Diana Vishneva, Vladimir Malakhov, Igor Zelensky) at the Athens Megaron Concert Hall.
In 2002, she took part in a gala concert accompanying the opening ceremony of a new theatre in the city of Apollo (USA). Her partner — Nikolai Tsiskaridze.
In 2003, with the Malakhov & Friends enterprise, she participated in gala concerts in Athens at the Megaron Concert Hall and she also appeared at the International Festival of Ballet in Japan (in both cases her partner was Sergei Filin). She later took part several times in the Malakhov & Friends program.
In 2007, she appeared at the 7^th Mariynsky International Festival of Ballet as Gamzatti in Bayadere (choreography Marius Petipa re-produced by Vladimir Ponomaryov and Vakhtang Chabukiani; Nikia — Ulyana Lopatkina, Solor — Nikolai Tsisikaridze); in the final gala concert she danced the pas de deux from Swan Lake (partner Mariynsky Theatre soloist Igor Kolb);
She also took part in a gala concert in honor of Maya Plisetskaya at the Teatro Real, Madrid.
In 2008, she danced Odette-Odile in Swan Lake (choreography Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, re-produced by Konstantin Sergeyev) under the auspices of the 8th Mariynsky International Festival of Ballet (partner — Mariynsky Theatre soloist Danil Korsuntsev);
She twice appeared in gala concerts at the International Rudolf Nureyev Festival of Classical Ballet (Kazan), dancing the Classical pas de deux to music by Daniel Auber (partner Bolshoi Theatre principal Dmitry Gudanov);
Under the auspices of the l^st Siberian Festival of Ballet, she took part in Novosibirsk State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet productions, dancing Gamzatti (La Bayadere revised by Igor Zelensky; Solor — artistic director of the Novosibirsk Theatre of Opera and Ballet Igor Zelensky, Nikia — Novosibirsk Theatre of Opera and Ballet soloist Anna Zharova; Dresden Semperoper soloist Yelena Vostrotina) and making her debut as Princess Aurore (Sleeping Beauty in a version by Konstantin Sergeyev, re-produced by Sergei Vikharev; Prince Desire — Zurich Opera Ballet Company soloist Semyon Chudin);
She appeared in Paris in the title role of Raymonda (choreography Marius Petipa re-produced by Rudolf Nureyev) with the Paris National Opera Ballet Company (Jean de Brienne — Bolshoi Theatre principal Alexander Volchkov).
In 2009, in Novosibirsk, with the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Company, she appeared in Swan Lake (re-produced by Konstantin Sergeyev, Vladimir Burmeister) and Don Quixote (Sergei Vikharev production), dancing Odette-Odile (Prince Siegfried ЁC Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Company soloist Roman Polkovnikov) and Kitri (Basil — Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Company soloist Maxim Gishenkov);
under the auspices of the Russian Seasons 21 Century project she created the role of Armide in Nikolai Cherepnin’s Le Pavillon d’Armide (producer Andris Liepa, choreography Jurijus Smoriginas).