Maria Olegovna Kochetkova (russian: Мария Олеговна Кочеткова; born 1984) is a Russian

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 ...

. She was a principal dancer with the

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Franc ...

between 2007 and 2018, and 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 ...

between 2015 and 2017. After that, she became a freelance dancer for several years, before joining the

Finnish National Ballet Finnish National Ballet (Suomen Kansallisbaletti) is a professional ballet company at the Finnish National Opera, in Helsinki, Finland. The company was founded in 1922 and it currently employs 73 dancers. It is the only Finnish company that regular ...

in the 2020/21 season.

Early life

Kochetkova was born in Moscow. She trained at The Bolshoi Ballet Academy for eight years.

Career

After winning the

Prix de Lausanne The Prix de Lausanne is an international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition a ...

in 2002, Kochetkova danced with

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 ...

as an apprentice, then later danced at the

English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish ...

for four years, during which she mostly danced corps roles but also the Sugar Plum Fairy 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 ...

''. In 2007, after Kochetkova took classes with the

, she joined the company as a principal dancer at the invitation of Helgi Tomasson. She danced roles such as 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 ...

'', Swanilda in '' Coppélia '', Tatiana in '' Onegin'' and lead role in ''

Theme and Variations In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve melody, rhythm, harmony, counterpoint, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these. Variation techniques Mozart's Twelve ...

''. She created roles such as David Dawson's ''Anima Animus'' and

Christopher Wheeldon Christopher Peter Wheeldon OBE (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Life and career Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dan ...

's ''

Within the Golden Hour ''Within the Golden Hour'' is a one-act contemporary ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, composed by Ezio Bosso and featured music by Antonio Vivaldi. The ballet premiered in 2008 at the War Memorial Opera House, danced by the San F ...

''. She also danced the title role in the US premiere of Wheeldon's ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

''. Kochetkova performed the Grand Pas de Deux in San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker which was broadcast by PBS in 2008 and won the solo gold medal in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

series ''

Superstars of Dance ''Superstars of Dance'' was an American reality television show, first broadcast on January 4, 2009, on NBC. The show featured dance routines from eight countries from six continents. It was hosted by Michael Flatley, co-creator of ''Riverdance'' ...

''. In 2013, she appeared in documentary ''Ballet's Greatest Hits'', dancing the ''

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 ...

'' grand pas de deux, with Taras Domitro as Basilio and

Skylar Brandt Skylar Paley Brandt (born January 8, 1993) is an American ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. Early life Skylar Brandt was born and raised in Purchase, New York. Her parents are Gary and Barbara ...

as the bridesmaid. She starred as Juliet in the 2015 filmed version of ''

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 ...

''. She also appeared in various music videos and advertisements. Kochetkova is also known for her social media presence, with hundred of thousands of followers around the world. In 2015, Kochetkova joined the

but remained a principal dancer in San Francisco Ballet, and split her time between San Francisco and New York City. At ABT, she danced roles such as the title role 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, ...

'', Medora in '' Le Corsaire'' and Nikiya 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 ...

''. She remained a principal of ABT until 2017. In 2018, Kochetkova left San Francisco Ballet after the company's Unbound Festival because she wanted more freedom and to be closer to her mother, who lives in Moscow. Kochetkova now performs as a freelance dancer. She danced with the

Norwegian National Ballet The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet ( no, Den Norske Opera & Ballett, links=no) is a Norwegian opera company and ballet company. The first fully professional company each for opera and ballet in Norway and the only such professional organisati ...

and

Dresden Semperoper Ballett The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the ...

as a principal guest artist, and returned to English National Ballet as a guest artist. In 2019, Kochetkova presented her solo program, ''Maria Kochetkova: Catch Her If You Can'' at the

Joyce Theater The Joyce Theater (“The Joyce") is a 472-seat dance performance venue located in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The building opened in 1941 as the Elgin Theater, a movie house, and was gut-renovated and reconfigured in 1981-82 to re ...

. It featured works by David Dawson and William Forsythe, as well as appearances of

Sofiane Sylve Sofiane Sylve (born 1976) is a French ballet dancer. She is currently a principal dancer and ballet master with the Dresden Semperoper Ballett, and the artistic advisor and school director of Ballet San Antonio, and is set to run the latter's new ...

, Carlo di Lanno and

Drew Jacoby Drew Jacoby (born September 2, 1984) is an American contemporary ballet dancer. As of 2020, she is a principal dancer of Royal Ballet of Flanders. Early life Jacoby was born in Boise, Idaho in 1984. She trained at the School of American Ballet ...

. In the 2020/21 season, Kochetkova joined the

as a lead principal dancer.

Selected repertoire

Kochetkova's repertoire includes:

Personal life

She is married to entrepreneur Edward King. She filed for divorce in October 2020. On February 7, 2023, Kochetkova revealed on Instagram that she is pregnant with her first child.

Awards

, 2002 - silver medal *Varna International Ballet Competition, 2002 - silver medal and jury prize *Isadora Duncan Dance Award, 2008 *

, 2009 - gold medal *Prix Benois de la Danse, 2013 - nominated *Critics’ Circle National Dance Award (U.K.) for Best Female Dancer, 2014 - nominated *Premio Positano, 2017 - Ballerina of the Year Sources:

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kochetkova, Maria Russian ballerinas American Ballet Theatre principal dancers San Francisco Ballet principal dancers English National Ballet dancers Dancers of The Royal Ballet Prix de Lausanne winners Dancers from Moscow 1984 births Living people Moscow State Academy of Choreography alumni Prima ballerinas 21st-century Russian ballet dancers Russian expatriates in the United States