Andrej Uspenski is a Russian

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

dancer and photographer. Uspenski was born in

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and trained at the

Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet The Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet is a school of classical ballet in St Petersburg, Russia. Established in 1738 during the reign of Empress Anna, the academy was known as the Imperial Ballet School until the Soviet era, when, after a brief hi ...

, the

Palucca School of Dance The Palucca University of Dance Dresden (german: Palucca Hochschule für Tanz Dresden), formerly the Palucca School Dresden, is a dance school in Dresden, Germany, founded in 1925 by the dancer and pedagogue Gret Palucca who taught until 1990. ...

, Dresden, and the Berlin State Ballet School. Uspenski joined

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

in 2002 and rose to first artist, before retiring as a dancer in 2015, due to injury. During his dancing career, he often photographed dancers and rehearsals and after retirement was asked to become an in-house photographer for the Royal Ballet. His first exhibition, ''A Dancer's View'', was in 28 April to May 2017 at the

Old Truman Brewery The Black Eagle Brewery is the former brewing plant of Truman's Brewery located around Brick Lane in the Spitalfields area, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Truman's subsequently became Truman, Hanbury and Buxton. By 1853, the Black Eagle ...

. The

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

held a Friends private view of the exhibition. He has published several photography books ''Dancers: Behind the Scenes with The Royal Ballet'' (2013), ''Natalia Osipova: Becoming a Swan'' (2013) and ''Steven McRae: Dancer in the Fast Lane'' (2014). ''British Theatre Guide'' called ''Dancers: Behind the Scenes with The Royal Ballet'' "indispensable to balletomanes". ''The Lady'' wrote that "the pictures have a rare intimacy" and gave it 4/5 stars. ''Ballet News'' in its review of ''Steven McRae: Dancer in the Fast Lane'' mentions "Uspenski’s considerable skill in capturing moments of art".

Publications

*''Dancers: Behind the Scenes at The Royal Ballet'',

Oberon Books Oberon Books is a London-based independent publisher of drama texts and books on theatre. The company publishes around 100 titles per year, many of them plays by new writers. In addition, the list contains a range of titles on theatre studies, act ...

, 2013 *''Natalia Osipova: Becoming a Swan'', 2013 *''Steven McRae: Dancer in the Fast Lane'', 2014

Personal life

He had a relationship with Natalia Osipova. In February 2018, Uspenski received a 12-month community order for "a campaign of harassment against an ex-girlfriend", ballet manager and former dancer Tatjana Novitjenko, including aggrevive messages, sending her a double-ended sex toy and a photo in which her Chihuahua appeared to be drowning in the Thames.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uspenski, Andrej Dancers of The Royal Ballet Living people Dancers from Saint Petersburg Russian male ballet dancers Russian photographers 21st-century Russian ballet dancers Year of birth missing (living people)