Maria Yevgenevna Allash (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Мария Евгеньевна Аллаш) (born 9 March 1976) is a Russian ballet dancer, and

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, p ...

of the

Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it came to internatio ...

since 1994. Born in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, then part of the

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

, in the

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 ...

, Allash joined the

Moscow State Academy of Choreography The Moscow State Academy of Choreography (russian: Московская государственная академия хореографии), commonly known as The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious schools of ball ...

, under the tutelage of Professor

Sofia Golovkina Sofia Nikolayevna Golovkina (alternate, Sophia; Russian, Головкина, Софья Николаевна; 13 October 1915 - 17 February 2004) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher. A graduate of the Moscow State Acade ...

. Since 1994 she has been a soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre. She has been tutored at different times by Tatyana Golikova and Nina Semizorova. She is married to fellow Bolshoi soloist Alexei Loparevich. She has been honoured with the titles

Honoured Artist of Russia Merited Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: link=no, Заслуженный артист Российской Федерации, ''Zasluzhenny artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii'') is an honorary title in the Russian Federation. The title is ...

, in 2002, and

People's Artist of Russia People's Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: Народный артист Российской Федерации, ''Narodnyy artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii''), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the Russian Federation, is an h ...

in 2012. Since 2017 she has been under working under contract at the Bolshoi.

Repertoire

Allash's first appearance was in 1994, dancing the

mazurka The mazurka (Polish: ''mazur'' Polish ball dance, one of the five Polish national dances and ''mazurek'' Polish folk dance') is a Polish musical form based on stylised folk dances in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, with character de ...

in the eleventh waltz in '' Chopiniana''. The following year she appeared as the Dryad ruler in ''Don Quixote'', as Countess Cherry in ''

Cipollino Cipollino (), or Little Onion as translated from the original, is a fictional character from Gianni Rodari's eponymous ''Tale of Cipollino'' ( it, Il romanzo di Cipollino), also known under its 1957 renamed title ''Adventures of Cipollino'' ( it, ...

'', as Mirta 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, ...

'' and as Aegina in ''Spartacus''. Allash has gone on to appear in a number of ballet productions, including ''

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 ...

'', ''The Sleeping Beauty'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Raymonda ''Raymonda'' (russian: Раймонда) is a ballet in three acts, four scenes with an apotheosis, choreographed by Marius Petipa to music by Alexander Glazunov, his Opus 57. It was first presented by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Mariinsky ...

'', '' Mozartiana'', '' The Legend of Love'', ''

The Little Humpbacked Horse Pyotr Pavlovich Yershov (russian: link=no, Пётр Павлович Ершов; – ) was a Russian poet and author of the famous fairy-tale poem ''The Little Humpbacked Horse'' (''Konyok-Gorbunok''). Biography Pyotr Yershov was born in the vil ...

'', '' Symphony in C'', '' The Golden Age'', ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'', '' La Esmeralda'', ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Jewels A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

''.

Tours

In 2006 Allash participated in the festival "Stars of the Bolshoi Ballet", staged at the Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre, and performed as Gamzatti in ''La Bayadère'' and Kitri in ''Don Quixote''. She again performed in Krasnoyarsk in 2007, once more in ''La Bayadère'', this time as Nikiya, and as Aegina in ''Spartacus'', choreographed by

Yury Grigorovich Yury Nikolayevich Grigorovich (russian: Ю́рий Никола́евич Григоро́вич; born 2 January 1927 in Leningrad) is a Soviet and Russian dancer and choreographer Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

in London in honour of the 80th birthday of Yury Grigorovich. Allash performed at the Kazan International Classical Ballet Festival in 2008, appearing at the Tatar Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre as Odette/Odile in ''Swan Lake'', and as Fairy Lilacs in ''The Sleeping Beauty''. Allash participated in the XIII Festival of Classical Ballet in 2016, reprising her role as Nikiya in ''La Bayadère'' at the Samara Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre.

References

Maria Allash
at the Bolshoi Theatre {{DEFAULTSORT:Allash, Maria 1976 births Living people Dancers from Moscow Bolshoi Ballet principal dancers Russian ballerinas People's Artists of Russia Moscow State Academy of Choreography alumni 20th-century Russian ballet dancers 21st-century Russian ballet dancers