Polina Semionova
Polina Semionova | |
---|---|
Born | Moscow, Russia | 13 September 1984
Occupation | Ballet dancer |
Polina Alexandrovna Semionova (born 13 September 1984) is a Russian ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre.[1] She also has an older brother, Dmitry Semionov, who is now a principal in the Staatsballett Berlin.
Studying at the Bolshoi Ballet School in Moscow, Russia, she won awards in the top ballet competitions; including a gold medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition 2001, First Prize at the Vaganova-Prix Ballet Competition in St Petersburg 2002, and Junior Prize at the Nagoya (Japan) International Ballet Competition 2002.
Graduating in 2002, Semionova joined the Ballet Staatsoper Berlin as a principal upon the invitation of Vladimir Malakhov,[2] becoming the youngest principal in the company's history at the age of 18. She toured Japan as Malakhov's partner, the reason he had invited her to be a principal in the company. He gave her the lead roles in The Nutcracker and La Bayadère during her first season, following with the role of Tatiana in Onegin, which became her favourite role. In 2003, at the age of 19, Semionova performed with the English National Ballet in Swan Lake, receiving approving reviews from English critics. The following year she joined the California Ballet in their production of The Sleeping Beauty, again impressing critics despite what they termed a disappointing overall ballet.[3]
Appearing in Herbert Grönemeyer's music video "Demo (Letzter Tag)", which was later uploaded to the popular video site YouTube, brought her to the attention of both the dance community and the general public. Semionova is one of the featured artists on EuroArts DVD "Divine Dancers Live from Prague", in which she dances a pas-de-deux from the ballet "Manon". In 2012 she appeared in the film Passion as a ballet dancer.
Partners
- Roberto Bolle, La Scala di Milano
- Vladimir Malakhov, Staatsoper Berlin, American Ballet Theatre, Vienna State Opera, Stuttgart Ballet, National Ballet of Canada
- Jose Manuel Carreno, American Ballet Theatre
- Evan McKie, Stuttgart Ballet
- Stéphane Bullion, Mathieu Ganio, Paris Opera Ballet
- Igor Zelensky, Mariinsky Ballet
- Jiri Jelinek, National Ballet of Canada
See also
References
- ^ http://www.abt.org/dancers/detail.asp?Dancer_ID=256 Accessed November 20, 2013
- ^ Alovert, Nina. On the rise: Polina Semionova: destiny's Ball-a young ballerina's journey from student to Cinderella, Dance Magazine, October 2004. Accessed April 13, 2007.
- ^ Steinberg, Janice. California Ballet Company, Dance Magazine, March 5–6, 2005. Accessed April 13, 2007.