Farukh Sadullayevich Ruzimatov (russian: Фару́х Садулла́евич Рузима́тов; born 26 June 1963) is an Uzbek-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. Since 2018, Ruzimatov has been artistic director of the ballet company at Navoi Theatre in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

, Uzbekistan. In a dancing career spanning more than three decades, Ruzimatov was mostly associated with the

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...

, where he was the principal dancer and assistant artistic director of the company.

Biography

Ruzimatov was born in

Uzbek SSR Uzbekistan (, ) is the common English name for the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR; uz, Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Республикаси, Oʻzbekiston Sovet Sotsialistik Respublikasi, in Russian: Уз� ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

(now

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

). Ruzimatov enrolled in the

Vaganova Academy 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 ...

in 1973 in Leningrad, where he trained under Gennady Selyutsky. Upon his 1981 graduation, Ruzimatov began dancing with the Kirov Ballet and became a principal dancer in 1986. His repertoire includes such roles as Albrecht in ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...

'', Solor in ''

La Bayadère ''La Bayadère'' ("the temple dancer") ( ru. «Баядерка», ''Bayaderka'') is a ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by French choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. The ballet was staged especiall ...

'', Golden Slave in ''Shéhérazade'', Ali in '' Le Corsaire'', Prince Desire in '' The Sleeping Beauty'', The Prince in ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

'', Siegfried in ''

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 ...

'', Basil in ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

'', and many others. He has also performed as principal guest artist with the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

. From 2007 to 2009, he was artistic director of the ballet at the

Mikhailovsky Theatre The Mikhailovsky Theatre (russian: Миха́йловский теа́тр) is one of Russia's oldest opera and ballet houses. It was founded in 1833 and is situated in a historical building on 1, Arts Square in Saint Petersburg. It is named ...

. Since 2018, Ruzimatov is artistic director of the ballet company at Navoi Theatre in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Partnerships

Ruzimatov has had many successful partnerships, but the two most well known are probably his collaboration with

Yulia Makhalina Yulia Victorovna Makhalina (russian: Юлия Викторовна Махалина), also Yulia, (born 23 June 1968) is a Russian ballet dancer. Since 1986, she has been with the Kirov/ Mariinsky Ballet where she is a principal dancer. Along with ...

in Kirov productions of ''Giselle'' and ''La Bayadere'', and he partnered Larissa Lezhnina in her Kirov debut as Aurora in the 1989 production of ''The Sleeping Beauty''. He went on to partner her in ''Diana and Acteon'', but as she left the Kirov to become a soloist for the

Dutch National Ballet The Dutch National Ballet (Dutch: Het Nationale Ballet) is the official and largest ballet company in the Netherlands. History The Dutch National Ballet was formed in 1961 when the Amsterdam Ballet and the Nederlands Ballet merged. The company h ...

in 1994, their promising collaboration was cut short. But the strongest partnership was with

Altynai Asylmuratova Altynai Abduakhimkyzy Asylmuratova ( kk, Алтынай Абдуахимқызы Асылмұратова, ''Altynai Abduahimqyzy Asylmūratova''; born 1 January 1961) is a Kazakh-born former ballerina who is artistic director of the ballet co ...

. The couple were most seen dancing together in the ballet Le Corsaire, but when Asylmuratova retired, Ruzimatov was later dancing with

Diana Vishneva Diana Viktorovna Vishneva (''also trans.'' Vishnyova; russian: Диана Викторовна Вишнёва; born 13 July 1976) is a Russian ballet dancer who performs as a principal dancer with the Mariinsky Ballet (formerly the Kirov Ball ...

in the early 2000s.

Awards

* Honoured Artist of Russia (1995) * People's Artist of Russia (2000) * Honoured Artist of Tajikistan (1988) * Silver Medallist of the Sixth Varna International Competition (1983) * Special diploma by the Paris Academy of Dance *

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 ...

(1997) * Prizewinner of Baltika prize (1998)

References

External links

* (Russian and English) * (Russian and English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruzimatov, Farukh Mariinsky Ballet principal dancers Dancers from Tashkent 1963 births Living people Russian male ballet dancers Prix Benois de la Danse winners 20th-century Russian ballet dancers