Maria Eichwald (born at

Talgar Talgar ( kk, Талғар, translit=Talğar, ; russian: Талгар) is a town in Almaty Region, southeastern Kazakhstan. It is the administrative center of Talgar District. The town is located between Almaty and Esik, 25 km from Almaty and ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

) is a Kazakhstani

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 yea ...

who has settled in Germany.

Biography

Eichwald trained at the national ballet academy in

Alma-Ata Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of t ...

, Kazakhstan before becoming a soloist dancer at the national theatre. Due to her German ancestry she moved to Germany in 1995. In 1996 she joined the

National Theatre Munich The National Theatre (german: link=no, Nationaltheater) on Max-Joseph-Platz in Munich, Germany, is a historic opera house, home of the Bavarian State Opera, Bavarian State Orchestra and the Bavarian State Ballet. Building First theatre � ...

where she became a principal dancer in 1999. In Munich she danced a variety of leading roles including

Kitri ''Don Quixote'' is a ballet in three acts, based on episodes taken from the famous novel ''Don Quixote de la Mancha'' by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus and first presented by ...

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 ...

'', Odette/Odile 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 ...

'' (Petipa), Tatiana and Olga in '' Onegin'' (Cranko), Marguerite Duval in '' Die Kameliendame'' (Neumeier) and Manon in ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was first ...

'' (Macmillan). In 2004, Eichwald caused a scandal in the press when she abruptly left the company to accept an offer from the celebrated

Stuttgart Ballet Stuttgart Ballet is a leading German ballet company. Dating back to 1609, then the court ballet of the dukes of Württemberg, the modern company was founded by John Cranko and is known for full-length narrative ballets. The company received the L ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Since then, Eichwald has toured the world with the company and in 2005 danced opposite Paris Opera étoile

Manuel Legris Manuel Legris is a French ballet dancer, born in Paris on October 10, 1964. He was an ''étoile'' (star dancer) of the Paris Opera Ballet for 23 years. On September 1, 2010, he began direction of the Vienna State Ballet. He was appointed artisti ...

as Tatiana in ''Onegin'' (Cranko) on a tour of Asia. As of 2008, Eichwald continues to be an international ballet favorite among critics and audiences alike and is known for her exceptional skill and technique.

Nominations and Prizes

Eichwald was nominated for a

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 ...

in 2002.

References

External links

The Stuttgart BalletPrix de Benois History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eichwald, Maria Ballerinas Living people People from Almaty Kazakhstani people of German descent German people of Kazakhstani descent Kazakhstani female dancers Kazakhstani ballet dancers 1974 births