World-famous Ballet Star Natalia Osipova (Principal Dancer)
Biography
Russian dancer Natalia Osipova is a Principal of The Royal Ballet. She joined the Company as a Principal in autumn 2013, after appearing as a Guest Artist the previous Season as Odette/Odile (Swan Lake) with Carlos Acosta. Her roles with the Company include Giselle, Kitri (Don Quixote), Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker), Princess Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty), Lise (La Fille mal gardée), Titania (The Dream), Marguerite (Marguerite and Armand), Juliet, Tatiana (Onegin), Manon, Mary Vetsera (Mayerling), Natalia Petrovna (A Month in the Country), Anastasia and roles in Rhapsody, Serenade, DGV: Danse à grande vitesse and Tchaikovsky Pas de deux. Her role creations include Amélie Gautreau (Christopher Wheeldon’s Strapless) and in Wayne McGregor’s Tetractys and Woolf Works and Alastair Marriott’s Connectome.
Osipova was born in Moscow and began dancing at the age of five. Aged eight she joined the Mikhail Lavrosky Ballet School. From 1995 to 2004 she trained at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography and on graduating entered the corps of the Bolshoi Ballet, where she was promoted to principal in 2010. Her repertory there included Kitri (Don Quixote), Giselle, Nikiya and Gamzatti (La Bayadère), La Sylphide, Esmerelda, Princess Aurora and Swanilda (Coppélia). In 2011 she left the Bolshoi to join the Mikhailovsky Ballet as a principal.
Osipova has appeared as a guest artist with companies around the world. In March 2012 she became a principal of American Ballet Theatre, where she created the title role in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Firebird. Her awards include Golden Masks for her performances in In the Upper Room (2008) and La Sylphide (2009), Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards (Best Female Dancer, 2007, 2010 and 2014) and a Benois de la Danse Award (Best Female Dancer, 2008).
Tours
December 2005 - she danced Kitri in Don Quixote (choreography Marius Petipa, A. Gorsky in a version by S. Bobrov) at the Krasnoyarsk Theatre of Opera and Ballet. In 2006, she took part in the 20th International Ballet Festival in Havana, dancing with Ivan Vasiliev (Bolshoi Ballet) the pas de deux from Boris Asfiev's The Flames of Paris (choreograqphy V. Vaynonen) and the pas de deux from Don Quixote. 2007 - at the Gala Concert which completed the 7th Maryinsky International Ballet Festival she danced Kitri in Don Quixote (partner Maryinsky Theatre soloist - Leonid Sarafanov) and the pas de deux from Le Corsaire (partner - Sarafanov); - at the International Dance Salad Festival (Wortham Theater Center, Huston, USA) she appeared with Bolshoi Ballet leading soloist Andrei Mercuriev in Alexei Ratmansky's Middle Duet; - at the Gala Concert in honor of Maya Plisetskaya, held at the Teatro Real, Madrid, she danced the pas de deux from Don Quixote (partner - Bolshoi Ballet premier Dmitry Belogolovtsev). 2008 - with Ivan Vasiliev she took part in the Stars of Today and Tomorrow Gala Concert (pas de deux from The Flames of Paris), which wound up the Youth America Grand Prix 9th International Competition of Ballet School Pupils, founded in 1999 by former Bolshoi Ballet dancers Gennadi Saveliev and Larisa Savelieva; within the framework of the Rudolph Nureyev International Festival of Classical Ballet, she danced the title role in Giselle, in Kazan, with the Ballet Company of the Musa Djalil Tartar Theatre of Opera and Ballet (Count Albrecht - Andrei Mercuriev), she also took part in the Gala Concerts which wound up the Festival, dancing the pas de deux from The Flames of Paris (partner - Bolshoi Theatre soloist Ivan Vasiliev); she took part in the Gala Concert of ballet dancers at the Lyons Amphitheatre des Trois Gaules (variations and coda from Don Quixote, pas de deux from The Flames of Paris, partner - Ivan Vasiliev); she appeared in the title role of La Sylphide (choreography August Bournonville in a version by Johan Cobborg) in Zurich with the Ballet Company of Zurich Opera; she appeared in the title role of the Novosibirsk State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet production of Giselle (Count Albrecht - Ivan Vasiliev); 2009 - she danced Nikia in La Bayadere (choreography Marius Petipa, in a version by V. Ponomaryov, V. Chabukiani, with individual dances by Konstantin Sergeyev, N. Zubkovsky; staged by Igor Zelensky) in Novosibirsk, with the Novosibirsk with the Novosibirsk Theatre of Opera and Ballet Ballet Company (Solor - Ivan Vasiliev); As ABT guest artist, she took part in this Company's productions at the Met., appearing in the title roles of Giselle (choreography Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Marius Petipa; Count Albrecht - David Holberg) and La Sylphide (choreography August Bournonville in a version by Erik Bruhn; James - Herman Cornejo).
Awards
She won Grand Prix at Prix de Luxembourg International Ballet Competition (2003) and the 3rd prize at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow (2005). In 2007, she was awarded Soul of Dance Prize in the category "Rising Star" from Ballet Magazine. In 2008, she received National Dance Awards Critics' Circle (after the Bolshoi Theatre tour in London) in the category "Best Female Dancer" and became a recipient of The Golden Mask Award for her performance in the ballet In the Upper Room. In 2008, she won the Leonid Massine Prize, awarded each year in Positano (Italy), in the Significance of Talent category. In 2009, (together with Vyacheslav Lopatin) she was awarded the Special Prize of the Golden Mask jury (for best duet in La Sylphide, 2007/8 season) and the Benois de la danse International Dance Association prize for her interpretation of the roles of Sylphide, Giselle, Medora (Le Corsaire), Jeanne (The Flames of Paris).
Repertory
2004 Interpolated pas de deux (Giselle. Yuri Grigorovich production) Nancy (La Sylphide. Choreography by August Bournonville) 11th Waltz (Chopiniana) Spanish Doll (Nutcracker. Yuri Grigorovich production) Mustardseed (A Midnight's Summer Dream. John Neumeier production) - creation at Bolshoi Theatre
2005 Spanish Bride (Swan Lake. Yuri Grigorovich production) Soloist (Passacaille to music by Anton von Webern Roland Petit production) Typist/Typists (Bolt. Music by Dmitry Shostakovich. Alexei Ratmansky production) - creation at Bolshoi Theatre 1st variation grand pas (Don Quixote. Yuri Grigorovich production) Cinderella (The Sleeping Beauty. Yuri Grigorovich production) Frivolity (Les Presages to music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Choreography by Leonide Massine) Cancan Soloist (Gaite Parisienne to music by Jacques Offenbach. Choreography by Leonide Massine) - creation in Russia Dryad/Four Dryads, Kitri (Don Quixote. Alexei Fadeyechev production) Soloist Part 3 (Symphony in C) 2 nd variation in The Shadows (La Bayadere. Yuri Grigorovich production) Soloist (Jeu de cards. Music by Igor Stravinsky. Alexei Ratmansky production) - creation at Bolshoi Theatre
2006 Waltz Soloist/Soloists (creation), Autumn (Cinderella. Yuri Possokhov and Yuri Borisov production) Ramze, Aspicia (La Fille du Pharaon. Production by Pierre Lacotte after Marius Petipa) Manka Fart (Bolt, Alexei Ratmansky production) Gamzatti (La Bayadere)
2007 Soloist (Serenade. Music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, choreography by George Balanchine) - was among the creators of this ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre Soloist (In the Upper Room. Music by Philip Glass, choreography by Twyla Tharp) Balerina (The Bright Stream. Music by Dmitry Shostakovich. Alexei Ratmansky production) - was among the creators of this ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre Soloist (Middle Duet. Music by Yuri Khanon, choreography by Alexei Ratmansky) Class Concert (Music by different composers, choreography by Asaf Messerer) Pas de Trois des Odalisques (Le Corsaire. Production and new choreography by Alexei Ratmansky and Yuri Burlaka after Marius Petipa) Title role (Giselle by Adolphe Adam, choreography by Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Marius Petipa in a version by Yuri Grigorovich)
2008 Title role (Herman Levenskiold's La Sylphide; choreography by August Bournonville in a version by Johan Kobborg) Jeanne (Boris Asfiev's The Flames of Paris. Production and new choreography by Alexei Ratmansky after Vasily Vainonen) Couple in Red (Russian Seasons. Music by Leonid Desyatnikov, choreography by Alexei Ratmansky) - was among the creators of this ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre Variation (Paquita. Staging and new choreographic version by Yuri Burlaka)
2009 Swanilda (Coppelia. Choreography by Marius Petipa and Enrico Cecchetti; revival and new choreographic version by Sergei Vikharev) Nikia (La Bayadere) Esmeralda (Esmeralda by Cesare Pugni, choreography by Marius Petipa, staging and new choreographic version by Yuri Burlaka and Vasily Medvedev)
In 2004, she participated in the 1st Bolshoi Theatre's workshop (Bolero. Alexei Ratmansky production). In 2007, she appeared in Tumbling Old Women to music by Leonid Desyatnikov (choreography Alexei Ratmansky), first performed at the Territory Festival and then under the auspices of the Bolshoi Theatre Studio of New Choreography.
In 2011, she left the Bolshoi to join the Mikhailovsky Ballet as a Principal. She joined the Royal Ballet as a Principal Dancer in autumn 2013, after appearing as a Guest Artist the previous season as Odette/Odile (Swan Lake). Her roles with the Royal Ballet have since included Giselle, Juliet, Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker), Titania (The Dream) and roles in Serenade and Christopher Wheeldon’s DGV: Danse à grande vitesse. She has created roles in Wayne McGregor’s Tetractys — The Art of Fugue and Alastair Marriott’s Connectome. She has appeared as a Guest Artist with companies around the world. In March 2012, she was named a Principal at American Ballet Theatre, where she created the title role in Alexey Ratmansky’s The Firebird. Her awards include Golden Mask Russian Theatre Awards for her performances in Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room (2008) and La Sylphide (2009), British Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards (Best Female Dancer, 2007 and 2010) and the Benois de la Danse Award (Best Female Dancer, 2008).
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