Olga Vyacheslavovna Smirnova (; born 6 November 1991) 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 ye ...

. Formerly a

prima ballerina 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 ...

of the Bolshoi Ballet, she is currently a prima ballerina with 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 ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, Netherlands. She has danced at venues across Europe, as well as appearing in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China and Japan.

Biography

Born in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

(later Saint Petersburg), Smirnova comes from a family with no connections with ballet. Her mother encouraged her to take up the art at 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 ...

where she studied under Lyudmila Kovaleva. She participated in the academy's tours across Europe and Japan, performing in the 2004 presentation arranged jointly with the

Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

. In 2011, while still a student at the Vaganova academy she appeared in London at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...

to commemorate

Galina Ulanova Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova (russian: Галина Сергеевна Уланова, ; 21 March 1998) was a Russian ballet dancer. She is frequently cited as being one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. Biography Ulanova was born ...

, who is said to be one of the greatest of ballerinas. For the commemoration routine, which was choreographed by A. Messerer and accompanied by Dvořák's ''Melody'', Smirnova danced with S. Strelkov. She also danced, in June of that year, at

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 Bal ...

's benefit performance at 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 ...

. The following month, she was in Beijing, partnered by the Bolshoi's principal dancer Semyon Chudin, performing ''Grand Pas Classique'' (choreography by V. Gsovsky) to music by the 19th century French composer

Daniel Auber Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (; 29 January 178212 May 1871) was a French composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire. Born into an artistic family, Auber was at first an amateur composer before he took up writing operas professionally when ...

. In 2011, immediately after her graduation, she was recruited by the Bolshoi Ballet directly in the rank of soloist. She was promoted to first soloist in her first season, to leading soloist at the end of her second season in 2013, and to

in 2016. Until 2018, Smirnova worked under the tutelage of the legendary Marina Kondratieva, currently her master tutor at the Bolshoi is Maria Allash. In 2012 and 2013, she danced leading roles 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 ...

'', ''

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, bu ...

'', '' The Pharaoh's Daughter'' and '' Swan Lake''. In 2013, she performed the role of Tatiana at the Bolshoi's premiere of Cranko's '' Onegin''. She has created roles such as Bianca in Mailliot's ''Taming of the Shrew'', Jorma Elo's ''Dream of Dream'', the Marquess in

Pierre Lacotte Pierre Lacotte (born 4 April 1932) is a French ballet dancer and choreographer who specialised in the reconstruction of lost choreographies of romantic ballets. His mother was an affirmed musician and he manifested very early his interest for da ...

's ''Marco Spada''. Her repertoire also includes Aurora in ''

Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...

'', Anastasia in '' Ivan the Terrible'', Terpischore in Balanchine's ''

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

'', and Marguerite in

John Neumeier John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He has been the director and chief choreographer of Hamburg Ballet since 1973. Five years later he founded the Hamburg Ballet School, which also in ...

's ''

Lady of the Camellias The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

''. In 2014, she was invited to guest with the American Ballet Theatre as Nikiya in Natalia Makarova's production of ''La Bayadère''. She also danced the principal part in ''Diamonds'', a part which she premiered in 2012, in the Bolshoi's broadcast of ''

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 ...

''. In March 2022, she left Russia because of the invasion of Ukraine. Her grandfather was Ukrainian, and she stated she was "against this war with every fibre of my soul". She was quickly hired by the

Assessment

Writing in ''The Telegraph'' in March 2013, Mark Monahan found her "a truly extraordinary talent". He described her physique as: "Long-limbed, with a swan-like neck, superbly pliant spine and ravishing, sway-back classical line, she also has the agility of a

soubrette A soubrette is a type of operatic soprano voice ''fach'', often cast as a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy". Theatre In theatre, a soubrette is a ...

. Her arms ripple with an unmistakably Russian, lighter-than-air lyricism, yet her soaring, apparently preparation-free jump, which heightens the impression of buoyancy, also suggests great muscular strength." As for her dancing skills, he commented that "after barely 18 months, she is already a working definition of a star." Commenting on her performance in ''Diamonds'' (August 2013), Luke Jennings of ''The Observer'' characterizes her as "the physically perfect instrument of her art form", revealing his enthusiasm for her pas de deux with Semyon Chudin at the

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 Ope ...

. He also acclaimed her roles the same week of Odette-Odile in ''Swan Lake''. The enthusiasm was reflected by

Clement Crisp Clement Andrew Crisp OBE (21 September 1926 – 1 March 2022) was a British dance critic. He served as dance critic for the ''Financial Times'' from 1956 to 2020. Life and career Crisp was born in Romford, Essex, in 1926, although for many years ...

of the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

'' while Zoë Anderson of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' was impressed by her performance of Nikiya in ''La Bayadère'' in which she "carried the story with aplomb".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smirnova, Olga Prima ballerinas Bolshoi Ballet principal dancers Russian ballerinas 21st-century Russian ballet dancers Dancers from Saint Petersburg Prix Benois de la Danse winners Russian activists against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Russian people of Ukrainian descent Russian exiles 1991 births Living people