Ballet San Jose Artistic Director José Manuel Carreño has announced that the Company has been invited to tour with celebrated former Bolshoi Ballet starsNatalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev in performances in Southern California, Moscow and London this summer. The tour repertoire will feature Osipova and Vasiliev's debuts in Roland Petit's Carmenwith Ballet San Jose with the balance of the program comprising pas de deux to be performed by the former Bolshoi artists. Performances will be given July 25-27 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA; July 31 and August 1-3 at the Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow, Russia; and August 6-9 at the London Coliseum in London. The tour is presented by Ardani Artists. For more information, visit www.balletsj.org or www.ardani.com.
"We are all thrilled to have been invited to join Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev on this international tour," says Mr. Carreño. Ballet San Jose concludes is current season May 9-11 at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts with performances of Roland Petit's
Carmen and Twyla Tharp's
In the Upper Room.
About the Artists
Natalia Osipova was born in Moscow in 1986. She graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in 2004 (class of Marina Leonova) and joined Bolshoi Ballet the same year. She was promoted to the rank of First Soloist in January 2008 and to Leading Soloist in October of that year. In May 2010 she was named a Principal dancer of the company. Her coach there is the legendary Bolshoi dancer Marina Kondratieva.
Ms. Osipova's repertoire with the Bolshoi includes Gamzatti and Nikiya in
La Bayadère; Medora in
Le Corsaire; Kitri in
Don Quixote; Jeanne in Alexei Ratmansky's
The Flames of Paris; Ramze and Aspicia in
The Pharaoh's Daughter; Swanilda in
Coppélia; title roles in
Giselle and Yuri Burlaka's
La Esmeralda; Sylph in
La Sylphide; the Ballerina in Ratmansky's
The Bright Stream; and principal roles in Leonide Massine's
Les Presages (Frivolity); Ratmansky's
Middle Duet, Russian Seasons(Girl in Red), and
Jeu de Cartes; Twyla Tharp's
In the Upper Room; and Asaf Messerer's
Class Concert; as well as George Balanchine's
Serenade (Russian Dance) and
Symphony in C (3rd Movement).
She originated featured roles in Mr. Possokhov's
Cinderella and Mr. Ratmansky's
Bolero,
The Bolt, and
Jeu de Cartes.
Ms. Osipova has appeared as a guest artist with the Mariinsky Ballet (Kitri in
Don Quixote, the title role in
Giselle), Zurich Ballet (Sylph in
La Sylphide), the Mikhailovsky Ballet (the title role in
Giselle), the Novosibirsk State Ballet (Nikiya in
La Bayadère , Kitri in
Don Quixote, the title role in
Giselle), Teatro alla Scala (Kitri in Rudolf Nureyev's
Don Quixote), Paris Opera Ballet (Doll in
Petrushka, Clara in Rudolf Nureyev's
The Nutcracker), and American Ballet Theater (title role in
Giselle, Sylph in
La Sylphide, Kitri in
Don Quixote, Aurora in
The Sleeping Beauty, and Juliet in MacMillan's
Romeo and Juliet).
Her awards include the Grand Prix at the Prix de Luxembourg International Ballet Competition (2003); the Bronze Medal in the Senior Division - Moscow International Ballet Competition (2005); Russian Ballet Magazine's Soul of the Dance Award in the "Rising Star" category (2007); Russia's National Theater Award, the Golden Mask, for her performance in Twyla Tharp's
In the Upper Room(2008); Britain's Critics' Circle National Dance Awards - Best Female Dancer of 2007; Leonide Massine's Positano Dance Award and the Benois de la Danse Award as Best Female Dancer, both in 2008; as well as a Golden Mask (Special Jury Prize) for her duet with Vyachaslav Lopatin in
La Sylphide (2009).
Alexei Ratmansky's The Flames of Paris, starring Ms. Osipova, was recently filmed by Bel Air Classiques for future DVD release. The performance was transmitted live into movie theaters across Europe.
Ivan Vasiliev was born in Vladivostok, Russia in 1989. He studied at the Dnepropetrovsk Ballet School in Ukraine and later at the Belorussian State Choreographic College in Minsk, graduating in 2006 (class of Alexander Kolyadenko). Vasiliev danced Basilio in Don Quixote and Ali in Le Corsaire with the Belorus National Ballet while still a student at the College. In 2006 he was invited to join Bolshoi Ballet as a Soloist, making his debut with the company, at age 17, as Basilio in Don Quixote. He was promoted to the rank of Principal dancer in May 2010. He is coached by the former Bolshoi star Yuri Vladimirov.
Mr. Vasiliev's repertoire with the Bolshoi includes Basilio in Don Quixote, the title role in Spartacus, the Nutcracker-Prince in The Nutcracker, Colas in Sir Frederick Ashton's La Fille Mal Gardee, Solor and The Golden Idol in La Bayadère, Conrad and Pas des esclaves in Le Corsaire, Philippe in Alexei Ratmansky's The Flames of Paris, Acteon in Yuri Burlaka's La Esmeralda, The Young Man in Roland Petit's Le Jeune Homme et la Mort, soloist in Christopher Wheeldon's Misericordes and Asaf Messerer's Class Concert.
Mr. Vasiliev has been a guest artist with International Rudolf Nureyev Festival in Kazan, dancing Ali in Le Corsaire in 2006 and Basil in Don Quixote in 2008 and 2009. He has also appeared with the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater as Solor (La Bayadère) and Basil (Don Quixote), and with the Mikhailovsky Ballet in St. Petersburg in the role of Albrecht (Giselle) in 2009.
His numerous awards include the Bronze medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition (2004), the Gold medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition (2005), the Gold medal at the Arabesque-96 Ballet Competition in Perm (2006), and the Grand Prix - Varna International Ballet Competition (2006). He is also the winner of the Triumph Youth prize (2006), British Critics' Circle National Dance Awards in the category 'Spotlight' (2008), and the Benois de la Danse prize for his performances in Le Corsaire and The Flames of Paris (2009).
Alexei Ratmansky's The Flames of Paris, starring Mr. Vasiliev, was recently filmed by Bel Air Classiques for future DVD release. The performance was transmitted live into movie theaters across Europe.Known for bold and inventive programming that matches the creativity and innovation of its Silicon Valley home, Ballet San Jose is the second largest professional ballet company in California. In 2013 the Company named former American Ballet Theatre Principal Dancer José Manuel Carreño Artistic Director and former Ballet San Jose Principal Ballet Master Raymond Rodriguez Associate Artistic Director.The critically-acclaimed company produces an annual season of mixed-repertory programs and full-length ballets, including The Nutcracker, at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts. Through its strategic relationship with American Ballet Theatre (ABT), Ballet San Jose has achieved new and rapid artistic growth with access to productions from ABT's extensive repertory, association with its network of renowned choreographers, directors, and artists as well as to ABT's renowned National Training Curriculum for ballet faculty and students - making Ballet San Jose's school the exclusive ABT-certified institution on the West Coast.
Ballet San Jose produces professional performances of the highest artistic standard, which enhance to the cultural life of the community, and are accessible to the broadest possible audience. Ballet San Jose is committed to providing interactive arts education for children, youth, and adults through its ballet school and outreach programs, focusing on both professional training and on general community enrichment.Ballet San Jose began in 1986 as a co-venture relationship with Cleveland Ballet, under the leadership of Artistic Director Dennis Nahat. The San Jose Cleveland Ballet spanned the two cities for nearly 15 years before Ballet San Jose was re-established in 2000 as an independent resident company in San Jose.
For more information about Ballet San Jose, visit www.balletsj.org .
Ardani Artists was founded in 1990 by Sergei and Gaiane Danilian, two of the most innovative producers and impresarios of performing arts in the United States and abroad. In their longtime association with Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Ardani Artists has been integral in staging the Center's 2006 Mariinsky Festival, which featured performances by the renowned Russian opera company, ballet and orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev, as part of the Center's 20th anniversary celebration and the opening of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Ardani Artists, again in association with Segerstrom Center for the Arts, commissioned and produced the first Kings of the Dance, Tour de Force I andII with many of the greatest dancers representing the leading ballet companies in the world, Reflections, which starred seven of the top prima ballerinas dancing on the world stages today, and Diana Vishneva: Beauty in Motion, which showcased the celebrated ballerina in several works, some created specifically for her. Beauty in Motion won three Golden Mask Awards, Russia's prestigious National Theater Award: Best Ballet Event of the Season, for the production, Best Ballerina and the coveted Critics' Choice Award. This was the first time in 15 years that the latter award was presented for dance. In 2011 Ardani Artists in collaboration with The Diana Vishneva Foundation produced another project "Diana Vishneva: Dialogues" for which received two "Golden Mask" National Theater Award as best Ballet production and Ms. Vishneva as Best Female Dancer. In addition to that Mauro Bigonzetti, one of seven choreographers of Reflections Projectreceived "Golden Mask" Award as Best Choreographer for his ballet "Cinque". In 2014 Ardani Artists will celebrate 20th Anniversary since company incorporated in United States of America. "Kings of the Dance" in London's coliseum will be part of celebration program which also will include premiere of "Diana Vishneva: On the Edge" Project (California, Roubaix, Monte Carlo, Moscow and St. Petersburg), "Solo for Two" Project starring Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev (California, Moscow, St. Petersburg), American debut of theMikhailovsky Ballet in United States (New York, California), "Polina Semionova & Friends" Project (California),Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo US Tour (California, New York), as well as Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg nine-week North-American Tour in Spring-Summer of 2015.
Photo Credit: Bob Shomler
