Alexei Ratmansky

The American-Ukrainian-Russian choreographer Alexei Ratmansky (St. Petersburg, 1968) trained at the Bolshoi Ballet School in Moscow and subsequently danced with the National Ballet of Ukraine, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet. His work is performed by nearly all major ballet companies worldwide, including the Bolshoi Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Ballet de l’Opéra national de Paris, The Royal Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, the Royal Swedish Ballet, and Dutch National Ballet. He has also choreographed for star dancers such as Nina Ananiashvili, Wendy Whelan, Diana Vishneva, and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

From 2004 to 2008, Alexei Ratmansky was the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, which under his leadership was twice named "Best Foreign Company" by the London Critics’ Circle. He created full-length ballets for the Bolshoi such as The Bright Stream, The Bolt, Anna Karenina, and Lost Illusions. He also produced versions of Le Corsaire and The Flames of Paris, combining reconstruction and new choreography. From 2009 to early 2023, Ratmansky was artist-in-residence at American Ballet Theatre. Since August 2023, he has held the same position at New York City Ballet.

Ratmansky is a specialist in revising and reviving 19th- and early 20th-century ballet repertoire. He has created his own versions of Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, La Bayadère, Paquita, and in 2010, he created a new, widely acclaimed production of Don Quixote for Dutch National Ballet, which will be performed again at Dutch National Opera & Ballet in October 2024. He has also created numerous original works, several of which are now part of the Dutch National Ballet’s repertoire: Russian Seasons, On the Dnieper, Firebird, Souvenir d’un Lieu Cher, Shostakovich Trilogy, and Serenade After Plato’s Symposium. The programme Stravinsky Fairytales, performed in June 2024 at Dutch National Opera & Ballet, will also feature The Fairy’s Kiss, a new version of the production he created in 2017 for Miami City Ballet.

For his ballets, Ratmansky has received many awards, including four Russian Golden Mask Awards, the prestigious Benois de la Danse for his Anna Karenina (2005, created for the Royal Danish Ballet) and his Shostakovich Trilogy and The Tempest (2014, both created for American Ballet Theatre), a Bessie Award, and the British National Dance Award. In 2013, he was named MacArthur Fellow of the Year for his exceptional achievements.

Last update: 11-06-2024

• From 15 to 25 June 2024, Ratmansky's ballets Firebird and The Fairy's Kiss will be featured in the programme Stravinsky Fairy Tales at Dutch National Opera & Ballet