Daria Pavlenko as Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby

Daria Pavlenko (Rus. Дарья Павленко) as Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby ballet, music by Konstantin Meladze and Jury Shepeta, choreography by Dwight Rhoden. Shot during 28.10.2014 World Premiere, Plaza Ukraine, Kiev.

Daria Pavlenko (Rus. Дарья Павленко) is principal with Mariinsky Ballet. She was born 1978 in Moscow. Pavelnko was refused admittance to the Bolshoi Ballet School in her home town but, like her sister Nadia before her, she was able to study at the Vaganova Academy in Saint Petersburg. There she followed the full eight-year course, first with Olga Iskanderova and then with Elena Evteyeva. After graduating in 1996, Pavlenko joined the Mariinsky where she became a soloist in 1998 and a principal dancer in 2004. In June 2000, Pavlenko hit the headlines when at short notice she danced the leading role in George Balanchine’s Jewels at London’s Covent Garden. Her performance was all the more remarkable as she had less than a day to rehearse the part. Later that year, she also played the lead in Diamonds and Emeralds, becoming one of the few ballerinas to master all three roles.

Photos by Jack Devant © with kind permission of The Great Gatsby project, Alyona Matvieno, special thanks to Kateryna Lazoryshynets.