Prizewinner at the Nureyev International Ballet Competition (Silver Medal, Budapest 2000).
Prizewinner at the International Ballet Competition in Paris (Gold Medal, 2000).
Prizewinner at the 9th International Ballet Competition in Moscow (Gold Medal, 2001).

LEONID SARAFANOV was born in Kiev, Ukraine. He graduated from the Kiev State School of Choreography in 2000 and became a soloist with National Ballet of Ukraine the same year. In 2002 Mr. Sarafanov joined the Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet where he was a Principal Dancer until January 2011. Mr. Sarafanov is currently a Principal Dancer at Nacho Duato's Mikhailovsky Ballet in St. Petersburg.

Mr. Sarafanov performed a variety of roles at the National Ballet of Ukraine, including James in La Sylphide, Albrecht in Giselle, the Grand pas from Paquita, DŽsirŽ and The Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty, Siegfried in Swan Lake, the Prince in The Nutcracker, Basilio in Don Quixote, the title role in Petrouchka, and Escamillo in Carmen Suite. After joining the Mariinsky Ballet his repertoire expanded to include Ali and Lankendem in Le Corsaire, Solor in La Bayadere, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, principal roles in William  Forsythe's Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, George Balanchine's Symphony in C (III Movement), Theme and Variations, Four Temperaments, Tchaikovsky Pas Deux,Rubies in Jewels, and Tarantella, and in Harold Lander's Etudes. He created the roles of Ivan the Fool in Alexey Ratmansky's The Little Humpbacked Horse and Matteo in Pierre Lacotte's Ondine. His repertory at the Mikhailovsky Theatre includes: Ali in Le Corsaire; Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake; Count in Giselle, ou Les Wilis; Prince Desire in The Sleeping Beauty; Basil in Don Quixote; Cipollino in Cipollino; and Nacho Duato's Without Words.

In 2006 he made his debut as James in Pierre Lacotte's version of  La Sylphide at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

Mr. Sarafanov's awards include a Gold medal at the IX International Ballet Competition in Moscow (2001); a Gold medal at the International Ballet Competition in Paris (2000); a Silver medal at the the International Rudolf Nureyev Ballet Competition in Budapest (2000), the Golden Mask (2010) in the Best Male Dancer category for his performance in Edward Clug's Quatro. In 2006 he was awarded the Prix Benois de la Danse, as well as Ballet MagazineÕs Spirit of Dance 2006 Award.