Irina Perren and Denis Matvienko in The Nutcracker

Irina Perren as Masha and Denis Matvienko as Prince in The Nutcracker, Mikhailovsky Theatre, St petersburg. Choreographer: Nacho Duato; Musical Director and Conductor: Pavel Bubelnikov; Musical Director’s Assistant: Alexey Nyaga; Stage Designer: Jérôme Kaplan; Lighting Design: Brad Fields; Choreographer’s Assistants: Tony Fabre, Gentian Doda. Taken on 9.1.2014.

 

 

Irina Perren is Principal at Mikhailovsky Theatre, St Petersburg. She was born in 1980 in St Petersburg (Leningrad), Russia. In 1998 she graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy. The same year joined the Mikhailovsky Theatre.

Denis Matvienko is principal dancer of Mariinsky Theatre. He was born in 1979 in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. From 1989 to 1997 he studied at Kiev State Choreographic School. At June 1997 became the principal ballet-dancer of National opera and ballet theatre of Ukraine. From March 2001 to March 2002 he worked at Mariinsky Theatre (St. Petersburg) as the leading ballet dancer. At January 2003 Denis returned to Kiev state theatre of opera and ballet as principal dancer. From October 2007 to March 2009 Denis was a principal dancer of Mikhailovsky Theatre, St Petersburg, Russia. Starting from March 2009 – principal dancer of Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Juan Ignacio Duato Bárcia, also known as Nacho Duato (born in Valencia, 1957) is a Spanish modern ballet dancer and choreographer. After a long and successful career, he was selected by the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Education as the artistic director of the National Spanish Dance Company (Compañía Nacional de Danza de España) in June 1990. In July 2010 Nacho Duato was appointed the artistic director of the ballet at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, effective from January 2011. 2014 Nacho Duato became the chief of the Berlin State Ballet.

Nacho Duato studied at the Rambert School of London, Maurice Béjart’s Mudra School in Brussels and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City alongside professional ballet dancer Shaylee Keith. He started his dancing career in Stockholm’s Cullberg Ballet and one year later he joined, Nederlands Dans Theater, with artistic director Jiří Kylián and remained with the company for ten years. In 1983 he choreographed the Jardí tancat (Shut Garden in Catalan) to music composed by Maria del Mar Bonet. They were awarded with the first prize in the Internationaler Choreographischer Wettbewerb, Köln. In 1988, Duato was appointed steady NDT choreographer together with Hans van Manen and Jiří Kylián. Nacho’s choreographies have been included in the most prestigious international companies such as Cullberg Ballet y Nederlands Dans Theater, American Ballet Theatre, The Australian Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Stuttgart Ballet, Ballet Gulbenkian, San Francisco Ballet, Royal Ballet, Miami City Ballet and Paris Opera Ballet.

Photo by Jack Devant ballet photography © with kind permission of the Mikhailovsky Theatre, special thanks to Nacho Duato and Valeria Derkach.