Paquita Grand Pas, Ekaterina Kondaurova and Andrei Yermakov

Paquita Grand Pas, Ekaterina Kondaurova and Andrei Yermakov in key roles. Music by Édouard Deldevez, Ludwig Minkus and Riccardo Drigo, choreography by Yuri Smekalov (Юрий Смекалов); Reconstruction and staging of Marius Petipa’s choreography (Act III Grand Pas) by Yuri Burlaka (Юрий Бурлака); Production Designer Andrei Sevbo; Lighting by Konstantin Binkin; Costumes by Elena Zaitseva. Shot in Mariinsky Theatre (historic scene) on 31.3.2017.

See all galleries from the Paquita 31.3.2017 

See all galleries from the Paquita 31.3.2017 

• Paquita: Ekaterina Kondaurova (Екатерина Кондаурова)
• Andrés: Andrei Yermakov (Андрей Ермаков)
• Cristina: Nadezhda Batoeva (Надежда Батоева)
• Carducha: Sofia Ivanova-Skoblikova (Софья Иванова-Скобликова)
• Paquita’s Friends: Anastasia Lukina (Анастасия Лукина), Valeria Martynyuk (Валерия Мартынюк), Anastasia Petushkova (Анастасия Петушкова), Yana Selina (Яна Селина)
• Grand Pas: Xenia Ostreikovskaya (Ксения Острейковская), Shamala Guseinova (Шамала Гусейнова), Evgeniya Gonzalez (Евгения Гонсалес), Anastasia Nikitina (Анастасия Никитина)

Ekaterina Kondaurova (Rus. Екатерина Кондаурова), born 1982 is a Russian prima ballerina, currently with Mariinsky Ballet. She was born in Moscow, Kondaurova is the daughter of an optician. She showed an early interest in gymnastics, piano and dance. After she failed to gain admission to the Bolshoi Ballet School, her mother was successful in having her accepted by the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in Saint Petersburg. After graduating in 2001, she immediately joined the Mariinsky. While on tour to Frankfurt in 2003, Kondaurova was noticed by the choreographer William Forsythe who the following year invited her to dance in the Mariinsky premiere of his In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated. As a result of the excellent reviews she received, she soon starred in other contemporary works by Forsythe, Alexei Ratmansky and Kirill Simonov. Olga Chenchikova, her coach until 2007, ensured her success in classical ballet roles, for example with her personalized interpretation of Nikiya in La Bayadère. Since 2007, her coach has been Elvira Tarasova. Kondaurova has also danced in several of George Balanchine’s ballets including Symphony in C and Jewels (ballet). In 2008, Kondaurova married Islom Baimuradov, her frequent Mariinsky dancing partner. She became a principal dancer at the Mariinsky Ballet in 2012.

Andrei Yermakov (Rus. Андрей Ермаков) is a principal dancer with Mariinsky Ballet. He was born in 1987 in Leningrad (currently St Petersburg). Graduated from the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in 2005 and joined the Mariinsky Ballet in the same year.

Photo by Jack Devant ballet photography © with kind permission of the Mariinsky Theatre, special thanks to Ekaterina Ordovskaya.