American Ballet Theatre Principal Dancer Daniil Simkin Joins Staatsballett Berlin

Daniil Simkin, a Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre since 2012, will join Staatsballett Berlin as a permanent member at the start of the company's 2018-2019 season, it was announced today by Staatsballett Berlin. Simkin will continue to perform as a Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre as scheduling allows.

"In the time that Daniil has been a member of ABT, he has been a frequent guest at companies around the world," said American Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Kevin Mckenzie. "While Berlin will be his primary residence, I am happy to report that he will now be a frequent visitor to ABT. I look forward to witnessing his continued success and artistry."

Commenting on his new affiliation, Simkin said, "I am extremely grateful for the ten fantastic years I spent calling ABT 'home.' As a new chapter begins, I am thankful to Kevin Mckenzie, who not only has been very supportive, but who is also allowing me to return to the wonderful New York audience in the future. Having grown up in Germany, I am looking forward to returning with everything that ABT has taught me and to joining Staatsballett Berlin under the directorship of Sasha Waltz and Johannes O?hman starting in the 2018/2019 season. But as of now, I am just very excited for the Fall season to begin and cannot wait for another great year at ABT!"

Daniil Simkin was born in Russia to a ballet family. In 1990, the family left for the West and, after several international engagements, settled in Wiesbaden, Germany. From the age of six he often appeared onstage, dancing alongside his father Dmitrij Simkin.

At age 10, Simkin began his training under the direction of his mother, Olga Aleksandrova. At 12, he began participating in ballet competitions and galas around the world and, at the same time, he finished his academic education. He joined the ballet company of the Vienna State Opera in 2006 as a demi-soloist and danced many roles in the classical, neoclassical and contemporary repertoire of the company. In 2007, he danced his first principal role, Basilio in Don Quixote, as a guest with the Lithuanian National Opera.

Simkin's awards include the Senior Gold Medal at the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson 2006, Grand Prix International Ballet Competition Helsinki 2005 and First Prize and Gold Medal at the 21st International Ballet Competition in Varna 2004, among others.

Simkin joined American Ballet Theatre as a Soloist in October 2008. His repertoire with the Company includes the Bronze Idol in La Bayade?re, Ballet Dancer in The Bright Stream, Franz in Coppe?lia, Ali, the slave and Lankendem in Le Corsaire, Basilio and the Lead Gypsy in Don Quixote, Puck in The Dream, the first sailor in Fancy Free, Albrecht, the Flames of Paris pas de deux, Albrecht and the peasant pas de deux in Giselle, Profiteer in The Green Table, Lescaut in Manon, Kolia in A Month in the Country, the Nutcracker-Prince in Alexei Ratmansky's The Nutcracker, Lensky in Onegin, the Son in Prodigal Son, Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, Boy With Matted Hair in Shadowplay, Prince De?sire? and the Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty, the Rose in Le Spectre de la Rose, the pas de deux from Stars and Stripes, Prince Siegfried, Benno and the pas de trois in Swan Lake, Gurn in La Sylphide, Eros and a Goat in Sylvia, the Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux and leading roles in Allegro Brillante, Black Tuesday, Company B, The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Duets, In the Upper Room, The Leaves Are Fading, Monotones I, Mozartiana, Piano Concerto #1, Sinfonietta and Symphony in C. He created the Chinese Dance in Alexei Ratmansky's The Nutcracker, the Bluebird in Ratmansky's The Sleeping Beauty, Ariel in The Tempest, The Boy in Whipped Cream and roles in Everything Doesn't Happen at Once, Serenade After Plato's Symposium and Troika.

Throughout his international career, Simkin received acclaim performing throughout North and South America, Asia and the Middle East. He organized International Ballet Galas in Greece in 2009 and in Japan in 2012. In 2015, together with The Joyce Theater in New York, Simkin spearheaded and produced INTENSIO, an evening of original contemporary choreography, which toured the United States and internationally. His latest endeavor is the production of Falls the Shadow, a multi-disciplinary dance installation at the Guggenheim Museum in New York which involves generative video projections and costumes by Dior.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre's 2017 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater, priced from $25, are available online, at the Koch Theater box office or by phone at 212-496-0600. Performance-only tickets for the Opening Night Gala begin at $25. The David H. Koch Theater is located at Lincoln Center, Broadway and 63rd Street in New York City. For more information, visit ABT's website at www.abt.org.

Pictured: Daniil Simkin in Swan Lake. Photo by Gene Schiavone.