Mario Labrador as Bronze Idol in La Bayadere

Mario Labrador as Bronze Idol in La Bayadere, music by Ludwig Minkus, choreography by Marius Petipa, revised by Vladimir Ponomaryov and Vakhtang Chabukiani. The Bronze Idol dance choreographed by Nikolay Zubrovsky. Shot on 13.02.1015 in the Mikhailovsky Theatre, St Petersburg, Russia.

Mario Vitale Labrador is a coryphé with Mikhailovsky Ballet. He was born in 1990 in California, the USA. Mario started ballet in 2001 under the direction of Ronn Guidi. In 2006, he finished his ballet training and entered Mr Guidi’s Pre-professional ballet company. There he performed many roles including: Prince, Rose Cavalier, Snow Cavalier, Plum King (The Nutcracker); Benvolio (Mr Guidi’s Romeo and Juliet), and others. At the end of 2009, Mario joined Diablo Ballet. In 2010, he auditioned for the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. From 2010-2011, he trained in the class of Ilya Kuznetsov, and in 2011-2012, trained in the class of Mikhail Sharkov. While at the Academy, Mario performed as the lead male soloist in various concerts and events including Proteges III in Washington; Colin in La fille mal gardée at the Bolshoi Theatre; and the lead male role in Paquita at the Bolshoi Theatre. On graduating from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in 2012 Mario joined the Mikhailovsky Ballet.

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