Evgenia Viktorovna Obraztsova (russian: Евге́ния Ви́кторовна Образцо́ва; born 18 January 1984) is a Russian

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 yea ...

. She is a prima ballerina with 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 ...

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 ...

, and with the

Mariinsky Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet (russian: Балет Мариинского театра) is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russ ...

Early life

Evgenia Obraztsova was born into a family of dancers, as her mother studied under

Natalia Dudinskaya Natalia Mikhailovna Dudinskaya (russian: Ната́лия Миха́йловна Дуди́нская; , in Kharkiv – 29 January 2003, in Saint Petersburg) was a Soviet prima ballerina who dominated the Kirov Ballet from the 1930s to the 1950 ...

and was a member of the company at the Moussorgski Theatre. Obraztsova discovered her dance talents early and passed the entrance exams for the

Vaganova School 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 h ...

, which trains young dancers in preparation for joining the Mariinsky troupe.

Mariinsky ballet

Evgenia Obraztsova graduated from the Vaganova Academy in 2002, having studied with Marina Vasilieva, before joining the Mariinsky company and rapidly proceeding through the ranks, protected and guided by a previous ballet star, the renowned

Ninel Kurgapkina Ninel Aleksandrovna Kurgapkina (russian: Нинель Александровна Кургапкина; 13 February 1929, Leningrad – 10 May 2009, Beloostrov) was a Soviet and Russian dance teacher and former prima ballerina for the Kirov Ball ...

. Obraztsova soon learned by reading one of the theater brochures that she had been promoted from "Corps de ballet" to "Coryphée" (demi-soloist) - no one at the theater had informed her of her promotion.Normand, ''Ballerina'' In 2003, Obraztsova became the youngest dancer in the history of the Mariinsky to interpret the role of Juliet and it became one of her favorite roles. During the 2005/2006 season, she continued to advance, and was offered opportunities to dance in three ballets created for her. In November,

Carla Fracci Carolina "Carla" Fracci (; 20 August 1936 – 27 May 2021) was an Italian ballet dancer, actress and ballet director. Considered one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century, she was a leading dancer of La Scala Theatre Ballet in Milan, th ...

(director of the ballet of the

Rome Opera The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (Rome Opera House) is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat ''Costanzi Theatre'', it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements. The pre ...

) invited her to perform in ''

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 ...

.''Interview: Evgenia Obraztsova, Second Soloist, Kirov Ballet
by Ng, Kevin, Balletco, January 2006. In March, the leading French choreographer

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 ...

chose her for the title role in the reconstruction of the ballet Ondine. For this role Evgenia received the main Russian theatre award

Golden Mask (Russian award) The Golden Mask (russian: Золотая Маска, ''zolotaya maska'') is a Russian theatre festival and the National Theatre Award established in 1994 by the Theatre Union of Russia. The award is given to productions in all genres of theatre ar ...

. Two months later, she returned to Rome to dance in ''Faust'' by Luciano Cannito. Inspired by artists such as

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 ...

Ulyana Lopatkina Ulyana Vyacheslavovna Lopatkina (russian: Ульяна Вячеславовна Лопаткина; born 23 October 1973) is a Russian prima ballerina who performed with the Mariinsky Theatre from 1991–2017. She studied at the Vaganova Acade ...

, and

Aurélie Dupont Aurélie Dupont (born 15 January 1973 in Paris) is a French ballet dancer who performed with the Paris Opera Ballet as an '' Étoile''. She began her career in dance in 1983 when she entered the Paris Opera Ballet School (''L’École de danse de ...

, Obrastzova was lauded for creating genuine interpretations, sensitive and intelligent for the key roles. She was particularly acclaimed for her work in ''

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 ...

''.

Principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet

Evgenia Obraztsova was promoted to principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet in February 2012. Her ballet master-repetiteur is

Nadezhda Gracheva Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Gracheva (russian: Надежда Александровна Грачёва; born 21 December 1969) is a Russian ballerina and ballet teacher who has danced with the Bolshoi Ballet. Early life Born in Semipalatinsk, Kazakh ...

. In 2016 Evgenia was awarded the title of

Merited Artist of the Russian Federation 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 2017 Evgenia was the first one to perform the role of Juliet in the new production of ''

'' staged by

Alexei Ratmansky Alexei Osipovich Ratmansky (russian: Алексей Осипович Ратманский, born August 27, 1968) is a Russian-American choreographer and former ballet dancer. From 2004 to 2008 he was the director of the Bolshoi Ballet. He left Rus ...

. In 2019,

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 ...

premiered ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'' at the Bolshoi theatre starring Evgenia as the queen Hermione. For this role she is nominated for the Golden Mask award. In March 2020 Evgenia debuted as Phrygia in ''Spartacus'' ballet. Evgenia Obraztsova is currently performing the key roles at the Bolshoi theatre, taking part in the main Russian and international tours and is invited as a guest star to the well-known theatres around the world.

On stage

Evgenia Obraztsova is frequently invited as a guest soloist to other countries, and is known for dancing leading roles in ballets such as ''

'', '' Ondine'', ''

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 ''

La Sylphide ''La Sylphide'' ( en, The Sylph; da, Sylfiden) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. Bo ...

''. She has won several awards, including the Gold Medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition in 2005. In high demand, she was again asked to dance the leading role in Vikharev Sergei's ''

The Awakening of Flora ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' in 2007. She also participates in numerous tours with the company, whether in Japan, the United States, France, Austria or Israel, as well as several international galas. In 2008 she took the lead role in ''Shurale'', a ballet by Leonid Jakobson. In November 2009, Obraztsova was also invited to 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 ...

, dancing as Aurora in their production of '' The Sleeping Beauty'', partnered with David Makhateli. She then danced at the Rome Opera, in ''

'' in February 2010. After '' Ondine'', she rejoined Pierre Lacotte in the summer of 2010, replacing

Isabelle Ciaravola Isabelle Ciaravola (born March 12, 1972) is a French ballet dancer. From 1990, she danced with the Paris Opera Ballet where she rose to the top rank of étoile in 2009. Since retiring from the stage in February 2014, she has devoted most of her tim ...

for the role of Constance Bonacieux in "The Three Musketeers", a newly choreographed production, along with dancers such as

Mathias Heymann The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded ...

Mathieu Ganio Mathieu Ganio (born 16 March 1984) is a French ''danseur étoile'' of the Paris Opera Ballet. Mathieu Ganio was born in Marseille, France, the son of Ballet National de Marseille principal dancers Dominique Khalfouni and Denys Ganio. He began da ...

, Dorothée Gilbert, and

Marie-Agnès Gillot Marie-Agnès Gillot (born in 1975) is a French ballet dancer and choreographer. She danced with the Paris Opera Ballet as an ''étoiles''. She is also POB's first in-house female dancer to choreograph for the company. Early life Gillot was born i ...

. A few months later, she danced again with

, and both were invited by the Stanislavsky Theater to dance "Giselle" in Moscow.Evgenia Obraztsova, the ballerina of Mariinsky theatre
by Farafonova, May on evgeniaobraztsova.com (translated by Kostov, Dmitry).

Film acting career

In 2005, she took a role as an actress in

Cédric Klapisch Cédric Klapisch ( ; born 4 September 1961) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. Life and career Klapisch was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine. He is from a Jewish family; his maternal grandparents were deported to ...

The Russian Dolls ''Russian Dolls'' (french: Les Poupées russes) is a 2005 romantic comedy-drama film, the sequel to (2002) and the second part of the ''Spanish Apartment'' trilogy, which is concluded with ''Chinese Puzzle'' (, 2013). Cédric Klapisch wrote a ...

, where she played Natasha. It was a role very close to her actual life, as Natasha was a young ballerina in the Mariinsky Theater. She never had to audition for the film, and was just noted by chance by Klapisch when he was visiting the Mariinsky. Obraztsova was also profiled in the 2006 documentary ''

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 yea ...

''. by Bertrand Normand, which explored the artistic life of dancers such as

, Svetlana Zakharova, and

. In 2018 she performed the main female role in the movie ''

A Frenchman ''A Frenchman'' (russian: Француз) is a 2019 Russian black-and-white historical drama film directed, written, and co-produced by Andrey Smirnov. Plot The film takes place in 1957. It tells about the French student Pierre Durand, who go ...

'' (2019) by Andrei Smirnov. For her role Evgenia is nominated for

Nika Award The Nika Award (sometimes styled NIKA Award) is the main annual national film award in Russia, presented by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science, and seen as the national equivalent of the Oscars. History The award was established i ...

- the main annual national

film award Film award is a cinematic award which can be awarded in several categories. Unlike the film festival, the film award is not accompanied by a public screening of competitive films. Film awards are usually awarded based on the results of a secret vot ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

presented by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science.

Recognition

In 2006, she was named one of "25 to Watch" by

Dance Magazine ''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' has multiple sister publications, including ''Pointe' ...

Personal life

Evgenia Obraztsova married sculptor Andrey Korobtsov on 27 April 2014. They have twin daughters, Sofia and Anastasia, born July 25, 2016.

Awards

* 2002 : Médaille d'or du Prix Vaganova of Saint PetersburgYevgenia Obraztsova
site of 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 ...

. * 2005 : Gold medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition *2005 : Zegna Mariinsky New Talents Award in Paris *2006 : Prix

Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (russian: Леони́д Фёдорович Мя́син), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the wo ...

in Italy *2007 : Golden Mask Award for best dancer for ''Ondine'' by Pierre Lacotte *2008 :

Nina Ananiashvili Nina Ananiashvili (born: ''Nino Ananiashvili'', ka, ნინო ანანიაშვილი; born March 19, 1963) is a Georgian ballerina and artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia. She has been described by the '' Daily Teleg ...

Star Award (

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

) *2009 : Principal Dancer Prize, ''Esprit de la Danse'' *2012 : International Dance Open Award in “Miss Virtuosity” nomination *2016 :

*2018 : La Renaissance française golden medal for her contribution in promotion of French culture in Russia

Repertoire

Filmography

* ''Don Quixote'', with Olesia Novikova, Leonid Sarafanov,

Alina Somova Alina Alekseevna Somova (russian: Али́на Алексе́евна Со́мова; born 22 October 1985) is a Russian ballet dancer and principal dancer with the Mariinsky Ballet of Saint Petersburg. Early life When Somova was young, she went ...

and other dancers from the Mariinsky Theatre * ''Swan Lake'', with Ulyana Lopatkina, Danila Korsuntev, Olesia Novikova and the Mariinsky dancers * ''Marco Spada'', with

David Hallberg David Hallberg (born May 18, 1982) is an American classical ballet dancer. He was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre and resident guest artist at The Australian Ballet, as well as a principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet. In 2021 ...

Olga Smirnova Olga Smirnova may refer to: *Olga Smirnova (dancer) (born 1991), Russian ballet dancer *Olga Smirnova (wrestler) Olga Vladimirovna Smirnova (russian: Ольга Владимировна Смирнова; born May 11, 1979, in Novocheboksarsk, S ...

, Semyon Chudin, and other dancers from the Bolshoi Ballet * ''

An intimate partnership
by Ng, Kevin, The St. Petersburg Times, February 16, 2007. * * ''

'' (2019) as Kira Galkina, ballet dancer of the Bolshoi Theater

References

External links

* of Evgenia Obraztsova
Evgenia Obraztsova Bio
on the official website
Evgenia Obraztsova
on the website of the Bolshoi theatre
profile on de Ballet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obraztsova, Evgenia Living people 1984 births Russian ballerinas Mariinsky Ballet first soloists Bolshoi Ballet principal dancers Prima ballerinas