Alexei Osipovich Ratmansky (russian: Алексей Осипович Ратманский, born August 27, 1968) is a Russian-American choreographer and former

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

. From 2004 to 2008 he was the director of the Bolshoi Ballet. He left Russia in 2008. As of April 2014 he was the artist in residence at the American Ballet Theatre.

Training and performance career

Ratmansky was born in St. Petersburg and trained under Pyotr Pestov and Alexandra Markeyeva at the Bolshoi Ballet School. He graduated in 1986. He then danced in Kyiv and was a principal dancer with the Ukrainian National Ballet,

Royal Winnipeg Ballet The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also fou ...

and

Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world and originates from 1748, when the R ...

Choreographic and administrative careers

Ratmansky's choreographic career first became notable with his staging of the ballet ''

Dreams of Japan A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

'' for the State Ballet of Georgia in 1998. ''Dreams'' and ''Charms of Mannerism'', choreographed in 1997, were both created for

Nina Ananiashvili Nina Ananiashvili (born: ''Nino Ananiashvili'', ka, ნინო ანანიაშვილი; born March 19, 1963) is a Georgian ballerina and artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia. She has been described by the '' Daily Teleg ...

. ''Dreams'' earned the Golden Mask Award from the

Theatre Union of Russia Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

. Ratmansky is noted for restaging traditionally classical ballets for large companies. His first three-act story ballet was ''Cinderella'', created for the

Kirov Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet (russian: Балет Мариинского театра) is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russ ...

in 2002. Ratmansky's 2003 staging of ''

The Bright Stream ''The Limpid Stream'' (russian: Светлый ручей, also translated as ''The Bright Stream'') is a ballet in 3 acts, 4 scenes, composed by Dmitri Shostakovich on the libretto by Adrian Piotrovsky and Fyodor Lopukhov, with choreography by ...

'' (also translated as "The Limpid Stream") for the Bolshoi Ballet led to his appointment as artistic director of that company the following year. While there he also made a full-length production of '' The Bolt'', in 2005, and re-staged '' Le Corsaire'' and the ''

Flames of Paris ''Flames of Paris'' or ''The Flames of Paris'' (russian: Пла́мя Пари́жа) is a full-length ballet in four acts, choreographed by Vasily Vainonen with the stage director Sergei Radlov to music by Boris Asafyev based on songs of the F ...

'', in 2007 and 2008.

The Critics' Circle The Critics' Circle is the national Professional association, professional body of United Kingdom, British critics for dance, drama, film, music, books and visual arts. It was established in 1913 as a successor to the Society of Dramatic Critics ...

in London has named the Bolshoi "Best Foreign Company" under Ratmansky's direction, in 2005 and 2007, and he received its

National Dance Award The National Dance Awards are presented annually in the United Kingdom by The Critics' Circle, and are awarded to recognise excellence in professional dance. They are widely regarded as the most prestigious award presented for dance in the UK, a ...

for ''The Bright Stream''. After his directorship at the Bolshoi, Ratmansky agreed to become the first artist in residence for the American Ballet Theatre in 2008 after negotiations with the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

failed over the position of resident choreographer. His ballets for the New York City Ballet include ''

Russian Seasons ''Russian Seasons'' is a ballet choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky to Leonid Desyatnikov's music of the same name, with costumes designed by Galina Solovyeva. The ballet premiered on June 8, 2006 at the New York State Theater, performed by the Ne ...

'' and '' Concerto DSCH'', and for the American Ballet Theatre, ''

On the Dnieper ''On the Dnieper (На Днепре)'', Op. 51, is a ballet in two scenes with prelude and epilogue by Sergei Prokofiev. Composed in 1931 as his fourth work in the genre, it resulted from a commission by the Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris ...

'' and '' Seven Sonatas''. In 2011, his choreography of Prokofiev's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'' was premiered by the

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca as the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

in Toronto. Its performance in London earned Ratmansky the praise from ''New York Times'' reviewer

Alastair Macaulay Alastair Macaulay is an English writer and dance critic. He was the chief dance critic for ''The New York Times'' from 2007 until he retired in 2018. He was previously chief dance critic at ''The Times'' and Literary Supplement and chief theater cr ...

of being "the most gifted choreographer specializing in classical ballet today." In 2014, Ratmansky took his career in a new direction when he reconstructed Marius Petipa's final revival of ''

Paquita ''Paquita'' is a ballet in two acts and three scenes originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to music by Édouard Deldevez and Ludwig Minkus. Paul Foucher received royalties as librettist. History ''Paquita'' is the creation of French compo ...

'' from the

Sergeyev Collection The Sergeyev Collection is a collection of choreographic notation, musical materials, designs for décor and costumes, theatre programs, photos and other items that document the repertory of the Mariinsky Ballet, Imperial Ballet (precursor of the K ...

. The reconstruction was premièred in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

in December 2014, performed by the Bavarian State Ballet. In March 2015, he mounted his second Petipa reconstruction for American Ballet Theatre - '' The Sleeping Beauty'', which premièred in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

and was later staged at the

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

. Ratmansky is currently reconstructing the Petipa/Ivanov 1895 staging of ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'', which was premièred in Zurich in February 2016.

Choreographed works

' *1988: ''La Sylphide-88'', ''Duet-buff #1 & 2'' *1993: ''Pas de Graham'' *1994: ''The Fairy's Kiss'', ''Alborada'', ''Whipped Cream'', ''98 steps'' *1995: ''Hurluburlu'', ''Poor Little Things'' *1996: ''Sarabande'' *1997: ''Charms of Mannerism'', ''Capriccio'', ''Krakowyak'', ''Old Juniet's Carriol'' *1998: ''Dreams of Japan'', ''Middle Duet'', ''Poem of Extazy'', ''Fairy's Kiss'' (2nd version) *1999: ''Water'', ''Chrizantemums'' *2001: ''Turandot's Dream'', ''Flight to Budapest'', ''Leah'', ''The Nutcracker'' *2002: ''Cinderella'', ''Vers la Flamme'', ''The Firebird'' *2003: ''The Bright Stream'', ''Carnaval des Animaux'', ''Bolero'' *2004: ''Anna Karenina'', ''Leah'' (2nd version) *2005: ''The Bolt'', ''Jeu de cartes'' *2006: ''

'' *2007: ''Le Corsaire'' (after Mazilier & Petipa, with Yuri Burlaka), ''Old Women Falling Out'' *2008: ''Biset Variations'', ''Pierrot Lunaire'', '' Concerto DSCH'', ''Flames of Paris'' (after Vainonen) *2009: ''The Little Humpbacked Horse'', ''Valse-Fantasie'', ''On the Dnieper'', ''Scuola di Ballo'', ''Seven Sonatas'' *2010: ''Don Quixote'' (after Petipa & Gorsky), ''Namouna'', ''Fandango'', ''The Nutcracker'' (2nd version) *2011: ''Lost Illusions'', ''Dumbarton'', ''Psyche'', ''Romeo & Juliet'' *2012: ''Souvenir d'un Lieu Cher'', ''Symphonic Dances'', ''The Firebird'' (2nd version), ''The Golden Cockerel'', ''Symphony No. 9'' *2013: ''24 Preludes'', ''From Foreign Lands'', ''Chamber Symphony'', ''Piano Concerto No. 1'', ''Cinderella'' (2nd version), ''Opera'', ''The Tempest'' *2014: ''Tanzsuite'', ''

Pictures at an Exhibition ''Pictures at an Exhibition'', french: Tableaux d'une exposition, link=no is a suite (music), suite of ten piano pieces, plus a recurring, varied Promenade theme, composed by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874. The piece is Mussorgsky's ...

'', ''Rondo Capriccioso'' *2016: ''Serenade After Plato’s Symposium'' *2017: ''Whipped Cream'', ''Odessa'', ''Songs of Bukovina'', Romeo & Juliet *2022: ''Wartime Elegy''

Reconstructions

*2014: ''Paquita'' *2015: ''The Sleeping Beauty'' *2016: ''Swan Lake'' *2018: ''Harlequinade'', La Bayadère'' *2019: Giselle

Awards

Ratmansky received the 2005 and 2014

Prix Benois de la Danse The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and ...

for choreography for, respectively, ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, «Анна Каренина», p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever writte ...

'', put on for the

, and ''Shostakovich Trilogy'' and ''The Tempest'', put on for the American Ballet Theatre. He also received the 2007 Golden Mask Award for Best Choreographer for '' Jeu de Cartes'' choreographed for the Bolshoi Ballet. In 2013, Ratmansky was named as the MacArthur Fellow of the year, an award that came with "genius grant" for "working in any field, who "show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work". (http://www.macfound.org/fellows/900/)

References

External links

ABT website

"Dance of Death" by Judith Mackrell
an article in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''
Archive film of Alexei Ratmansky's Charms of Mannerism in 1999 at Jacob's Pillow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratmansky, Alexei 1968 births Living people American Ballet Theatre Choreographers of Bolshoi Theatre Prix Benois de la Danse winners Royal Danish Ballet principal dancers Royal Winnipeg Ballet principal dancers Russian male ballet dancers Choreographers of New York City Ballet Choreographers of American Ballet Theatre *Alexei Ratmansky MacArthur Fellows 20th-century Russian ballet dancers