Nina Ananiashvili's Biography: Nina Gedevanovna Ananiashvili was born on March 28, 1963 in Tbilisi, Georgia. Her father, Gedevan, and two older brothers, George and Levan, are geologists. Her mother, Lia Gogolashvili, is a philologist. Because Nina was often sick as a child, her parents decided to enroll her in figure skating lessons in order to improve her health. By the time she was six years old, Nina was a ranked skater, and at ten became Georgia State champion in the junior division. In 1969, Ananiashvili entered the Georgia State Choreographic Institute. Tamara Vykhodtseva was her first teacher there. The great Vakhtang Chabukiani also took little Nina under his wing. Her progress was so impressive that it drew the attention of teachers from the Moscow Choreographic Institute, who convinced her parents to allow Nina to continue her studies there. In 1976, Nina was accepted at the Moscow State Choreographic Institute. Natalia Zolotova became her primary teacher there. During her second year in Moscow, Nina formed a partnership with Andris Liepa (the son of the legendary Maris Liepa), and while still a student at the School, took part in prestigious ballet competitions. In 1980, she won the Gold Medal (junior group) at the 10th International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria. In 1981, dancing with Andris Liepa, Ananiashvili won the Grand Prix (junior group) at the IV International Ballet Competition in Moscow. (Liepa received a gold medal.) In 1981, Nina Ananiashvili graduated from the Moscow Choreographic Institute and was accepted into the Bolshoi corps de ballet. Her teachers in the Company were Raisa Struchkova and Rimma Karelskaya; in 1987 Ananiashvili began to study with Marina Semenova. Although she was officially in the corps de ballet, from the beginning Nina danced only solos and various pas de deux at company galas. In 1982, during her first season with the Bolshoi, Ananiashvili danced principal parts in The Wooden Prince and Les Sylphides. Maya Plisetskaya cast Nina as Kitty in her own staging of Anna Karenina. Plisetskaya danced the title role in that performance. In 1982, during the Bolshoi’s tour to Hamburg, Germany, Ananiashvili made her debut as Odette/Odile in Grigorovich’s version of Swan Lake. In 1982, Nina made her first appearances with a foreign company. Partnered by Alexander Bogatyrev, she danced Swan Lake with both the Alberta Ballet (Calgary, Canada) and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. In 1983, Ananiashvili was officially promoted to the rank of soloist. During the 1983-87 seasons, Ananiashvili added Giselle, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Raymonda, Le Spectre de la Rose and Romeo and Juliet to her repertoire. In 1985, Nina Ananiashvili won the Gold Medal (senior group) at the V International Ballet Competition in Moscow. She was made a principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet the same year. In 1986, Nina Ananiashvili and Andris Liepa were awarded the Grand Prix at the III USA International Ballet Competition at Jackson, Mississippi, USA. In 1986, after a long interval, caused by a strain in international relations, the Bolshoi dancers were allowed to tour the West once again. Ananiashvili’s London performance of Raymonda was greeted with delight by both the public and the critics. That year became a turning point in her career. The changes in the political system of the country finally made it possible for her to accept guest engagements abroad. In 1988, Ananiashvili and Liepa became the first Soviet dancers to be invited to guest with the New York City Ballet. There, Nina danced the lead in Raymonda Variations, Apollo (her partner in both ballets was A. Liepa) and Symphony in C (second movement, with Otto Neubert). In 1988, Ananiashvili debuted in Sleeping Beauty and The Golden Age. She also performed the title role in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mlada, which was choreographed on her. In 1988, Nina Ananiashvili was married to Gregory Vashadze. Mr. Vashadze is a lawyer specializing in international law. In 1989, when the Bolshoi premiered its “Bournonville Divertissements”, Nina danced in The Kermesse de Bruges. In the years that followed, Nina Ananiashvili became an international ballet superstar. She became the first Russian ballerina to be invited by the Royal Danish Ballet, where she danced in August Bournonville’s La Sylphide, Napoli, and Flower Festival in Genzano. Indeed, she was the first non-Danish ballerina to perform these roles, which are the essence of Bournonville’s art, in his Theater. Ananiashvili worked with the Kirov (Mariinsky) Ballet, dancing in Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and the premiere of Lavrovsky’s Romeo and Juliet when that ballet returned to the Mariinsky stage after a long absence. Nina doesn’t forget her native city either. She first danced in Tbilisi in 1983 while only a soloist with the Bolshoi, appearing in Swan Lake and in Chabukiani’s version of Don Quixote partnered by Yuriy Vasyuchenko. Later she danced Giselle, La Sylphide, and other ballets with the Tbilisi company. While performing with the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, Nina worked closely with Kenneth MacMillan, dancing in his Prince of the Pagodas and Romeo and Juliet. While in London, she also appeared in Symphony in C, The Nutcracker, Ashton’s La Fille Mal Gardée and Cinderella, in Fokine’s Firebird, and others. Ananiashvili has appeared as a guest artist with the Rome Opera Ballet, with La Scala Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Ballet de Monte Carlo, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Boston Ballet, Munich Ballet, Tokyo Ballet, with the National Theaters of Norway, Finland, Portugal, with Belgrade Ballet, Sofia Ballet, Hungarian National Ballet and with Goteborg Ballet. In 1992-93, Ananiashvili appeared with Perm Ballet, dancing Swan Lake (N. Boyarchikov), Don Quixote (V. Vasiliev), and Giselle. She also established her own touring group “Nina Ananiashvili and International Stars”. Dancing with so many different companies has allowed the ballerina to considerably broaden her repertoire. It now includes more than 90 roles. In 1993, Nina Ananiashvili became a principal dancer with American Ballet Theater. Her repertoire with that company includes Swan Lake, La Sylphide, Don Quixote, Le Corsaire, Sleeping Beauty, La Bayadere, La Fille Mal Gardée, Romeo and Juliet, Manon, Cinderella, The Merry Widow, Offenbach in the Underworld, Symphony in C, Esmeralda, Sylvia Pas de Deux, The Snow Maiden, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, The Dying Swan, and others. In 1996, Ananiashvili put the young Aleksey Ratmansky on the map by commissioning from him two new ballets for her touring group. Charms of Mannerism was the first of these, and in 1998 it was followed by Dreams About Japan. “Dreams” has been performed to great critical and audience acclaim in Moscow, Tokyo, Paris, Alma-Ata, and Tbilisi. It has also received a Golden Mask Award and the Producers Association of Japan Award for the best ballet of the year. In 1997, Ananiashvili danced Giselle at the first performance of Vladimir Vasiliev’s version of the ballet. In 1998, Nina created the title role in Houston Ballet’s Snow Maiden (chor. Ben Stevenson). She was partnered by Carlos Acosta. Later the ballet was staged by ABT where Angel Corella took on Acosta’s part. In 1998, Ananiashvili danced Mozartiana for the first time. In 1999, Ananiashvili became a principal of Houston Ballet where she danced in Manon and in Ben Stevenson’s Three Preludes and Sleeping Beauty. On Nina’s initiative, the Bolshoi acquired an evening of Balanchine ballets in 1999. In 1999, at the first performance of the Balanchine program at the Bolshoi, she danced both Mozartiana and Second Movement of“Symphony in C. In 2000, Nina danced Aspiccia at the world premiere of Pierre Lacotte’s La Fille du Pharaon. In December of 2000, Ananiashvili and Fadeyechev established their own company, Dance Theater. In two seasons 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 they acquired an original repertory which included Alexey Ratmansky’s Charms of Mannerism, Dreams About Japan, and Leah (2001), Stanton Welch’s Green (2000) and Opus X (2001), and Trey MacIntyre’s Second Before the Ground (2001). In 2002-2003, Dance Theater lost its rehearsal space, and the season consisted of a sole performance (at the Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg, 2003) of Charms of Mannerism and Leah (Leah was nominated for The Golden Mask Award). Members of the company included the Bolshoi’s Maria Alexandrova, Anastasia Goriacheva, Elina Palshina, Inna Petrova, Dmitriy Belogolovtsev, Dmitriy Gudanov, Konstantin Ivanov, Yuriy Klevtsov, Ruslan Pronin, Andrey Uvarov, Sergey Filin, a principal of Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theater Victor Dik,Natalia Sats' Children’s Musical Theater soloists, E. Petrichenko and N. Chumakov, and a soloist of American Ballet Theater Giuseppe Picone. Bolshoi soloist Irina Zibrova served as the repetiteur of the company. In 2002, another role was added to Ananiashvili’s vast repertoire, that of the Operetta Diva in Anthony Tudor’s Offenbach in the Underworld (American Ballet Theater), revealing her as a marvelous comic actress. Ananiashvili has been partnered by some of the best male dancers of our times: Carlos Acosta, Charles Askegard, Dmitry Belogolovtsev, Peter Bo Bendixen, Alexander Bogatyrev, Julio Bocca, Fernando Bujones, Yuriy Vasyuchenko, Arne Villumsen, Vecheslav Gordeev, Kenneth Greve, Guillaume Graffin, Maximiliano Guerra, Patrick Dupont, Igor Zelensky, Alexander Kolpin, Angel Corella, Jose Manuel Carreno, Mikhail Lavrovsky, Andris Liepa, Nicolas Le Riche, Vladimi Malakhov, Irek Mukhamedov, Giuseppe Picone, Yury Posokhov, Farukh Ruzimatov, Ethan Stiefel, Andrey Uvarov, Aleksey Fadeyechev, Sergey Filin, Nikolay Tsiskaridze, Nikolai Hubbe, and others. 1991: Russian Independent National Award “Triumph” (the first time a dancer was honored). 1993: National Shota Rustaveli Award, Georgia. 2000: «Woman of the Year» (International Biographical Institute). 2001: Medal “National Merit Award” 3 order, Russia. 2002: “Dance Magazine” Award. 2003: «Medal of Honor» (Georgia’s highest order). 2003: «Ballet» Magazine Award «Soul of the Dance» (category «Queen of the Dance»).
Nina Ananiashvili’s Career Highlights:
(the list is organized chronologically and includes the ballerina’s debuts on the Bolshoi stage as well as first performances in a role along with the name of the company and partner. Ballets, which were created on Ananiashvili, are indicated by an asterisk (*)).
1980
*Rubai (V. Usmanov). X International Ballet Competition at Varna. Coppelia (A. Radunskiy). Bolshoi Ballet. A. Liepa
1981
*Youth (M. Martirosian). Moscow Choreographic Institute. A. Liepa
1982
*The Wooden Prince (A. Petrov) Bolshoi Ballet. A. Fadeyechev Anna Karenina - Kitti (M. Plisetskaya, N. Rizhenko, V. Smirnov-Golovanov). Bolshoi Ballet Les Sylphides - Mazurka (M. Fokine). Bolshoi Ballet. A. Fadeyechev Swan Lake - Spanish Bride (Yu. Grigorovich). Bolshoi Ballet. Swan Lake (Yu. Grigorovich). Bolshoi Ballet. Hamburg. N. Fedorov
1983
Giselle - Myrtha (Coralli, Perrot, Petipa, Lavrovsky). Bolshoi Ballet. Les Sylphides - Waltz and Prelude (M. Fokine). Bolshoi Ballet. A. Fadeyechev. *The Little Prince - Rose (B. Mayorov). Bolshoi Ballet. Swan Lake (Yu. Grigorovich). Bolshoi Ballet. A. Bogatyrev Swan Lake (V. Chabukiani). Tbilisi. Yu. Vasyuchenko Don Quixote (V. Chabukiani) Tbilisi. Yu. Vasyuchenko
1984
Don Quixote (M.Petipa. A.Gorsky) Bolshoi Ballet. Yu. Vasyuchenko
1985
Raymonda (Yu. Grigorovich). Bolshoi Ballet. A. Liepa.
1986
Giselle (Coralli, Perrot, Petipa, Lavrovsky) Bolshoi Ballet. A. Liepa Moods (V. Elizariev). Jackson (USA). A. Liepa
1987
The Nutcracker (Yu. Grigorovich). Bolshoi Ballet. A. Liepa Le Spectre de la Rose (M.Fokine). Bolshoi Ballet. A. Liepa Romeo and Juliet (Yu. Grigorovich). Bolshoi Ballet. A. Liepa Sleeping Beauty (A?. Smirnov-Golovanov). Odessa Ballet. A. Liepa The Nutcracker (Yu. Grigorovich). Finnish National Ballet. A. Liepa
1988
Raymonda Variations (G. Balanchine). New York City Ballet. A. Liepa Symphony in C (G. Balanchine). New York City Ballet. Otto Neubert Apollo (G. Balanchine). New York City Ballet. A. Liepa Shades (Petipa). Bolshoi Ballet. A. Liepa *Mlada (B. Pokrovsky, A. Petrov). Bolshoi Ballet. Sleeping Beauty (Yu. Grigorovich). Bolshoi Ballet. A. Fadeyechev The Golden Age (Yu. Grigorovich). Bolshoi Ballet. I. Mukhamedov The Dying Swan (Fokine) “Artists For Armenia” Gala, “Russia” Concert Hall, Moscow
1989
Swan Lake (A. Messerer). Ballet Theater of Belorussia. A. Fadeyechev Paquita (M. Petipa, M. Kondratieva). Bolshoi Ballet. A. Fadeyechev The Kermesse de Bruges (A. Bournonville). Bolshoi Ballet. N. Sharkov Giselle (Yu. Grigorovich) Bolshoi Ballet. A. Fadeyechev
1990
Giselle (P. Wright). National Ballet of Portugal. A. Fadeyechev Swan Lake (K. Sergeev). Boston Ballet. F. Bujones La Sylphide (H. Brenaa). Royal Danish Ballet. A. Villumsen Don Quixote (Yu. Grigorovich). Royal Danish Ballet. N. Hubbe Prince of the Pagodas (K. MacMillan) Royal Ballet. A. Fadeyechev The Nutcracker (P. Wright). Royal Ballet. A. Fadeyechev
1991
Romeo and Juliet (L. Lavrovsky). Kirov Ballet. A. Liepa La Fille Mal Gardée (F. Ashton). Royal Ballet. S. Cassidy
1992
Flower Festival in Genzano (A. Bournonville). Royal Danish Ballet. N. Hubbe Swan Lake (O. Vinogradov). Kirov Ballet. New York. M. Guerra Romeo and Juliet (K. MacMillan). Birmingham Royal Ballet. ?. O'Hara Cinderella (F. Ashton). Royal Ballet. S. Cassidy Swan Lake (N. Boyarchikov) Perm Theater of Opera and Ballet. A. Fadeyechev Don Quixote (V. Vasiliev) Perm Theater of Opera and Ballet. A. Fadeyechev.
1993
Firebird (M. Fokine). Royal Ballet. S. Cassidy Napoli (D. Bjorn). Royal Danish Ballet. P. B. Bendixen Don Quixote (R. Nureev). Norvegian National Ballet. R. Suttie Swan Lake (D. Blair). American Ballet Theatre. J. Collins Pas de Quatre (A. Dolin). Nina Ananiashvili & International Stars II. T. Terekhova, R. Gad, D. Kistler. Sleeping Beauty (K. Sergeev). Kirov Ballet. A. Fadeyechev Pas de Quatre (A. Dolin). Bolshoi Ballet. L. Semenyaka, N. Pavlova, N. Semizorova
1994
Giselle (V. Vasiliev). Opera di Roma. A. Fadeyechev Sleeping Beauty (H. Tomasson). Royal Danish Ballet. K. Greve La Bayadere (Petipa, Grigorovich). Bolshoi Ballet. S. Filin Manon (K. MacMillan). American Ballet Theatre. S. Heathcote La Sylphide (E. Bruhn). American Ballet Theatre. L. Riggins
1996
*Midsummer Night’s Dream (R. Sund). Norwegian National Ballet. M. Maletsky Romeo and Juliet (L. Lavrovsky) Bolshoi Ballet. A. Fadeyechev Don Quixote (K. McKenzie). American Ballet Theatre. J. Bocca La Bayadere (N. Makarova). American Ballet Theatre. J. M. Carreno Sleeping Beauty (K. MacMillan). American Ballet Theatre. J. Collins Anyuta (V. Vasiliev). Bolshoi Ballet. A. Fadeyechev, A. Lavrenyuk Cinderella (B. Stevenson). Norwegian National Ballet. M. Maletsky Due (A. Laerkesen) “Triumph” Award Gala. A. Fadeyechev. The Dying Swan (M. Fokine) Bolshoi Ballet.
1997
*Charms of Mannerism (A. Ratmansky). T. Terekhova, A. Fadeyechev, S. Filin Polacca (A. Laerkesen). T. Terekhova, R. Gad. A. Fadeyechev, S. Filin, J. P. Macco La Sylphide (M. Von Rosen). Bolshoi Ballet. D. Belogolovtsev, N. Tsizkaridze Four Last Songs (R. van Dantzig). Norwegian National Ballet Moon Reindeer (B. Cullberg). Norwegian National Ballet. R. Suttie Tchaikovky Pas de Deux (G. Balanchine). American Ballet Theatre. K. Roberts The Merry Widow (R. Hynd). American Ballet Theatre. G. Graffin Swan Lake (A.-M. Holms). Norwegian National Ballet. R. Suttie *Holst Pas de Deux (T. Kask). A. Fadeyechev Giselle (V. Vasiliev). Bolshoi Ballet. S. Filin
1998
*Snow Maiden (B. Stevenson). Houston Ballet. C. Acosta Snow Maiden (B. Stevenson). American Ballet Theatre. A. Corella Le Corsaire (M. Petipa). American Ballet Theatre. G. Picone Voluntaries (G. Tetley). Norwegian National Ballet. J. M. Johansson. Miss Julie (B. Cullberg). Norwegian National Ballet. R. Suttie Mozartiana (G. Balanchine) Bolshoi Ballet. S. Filin. *Dreams of Japan (A. Ratmansky) Bolshoi Ballet. T. Terekhova, I. Petrova, A. Fadeyechev, S. Filin, A. Uvarov, D. Gudanov.
1999
*Class. Opus X (T. Voskeresenskaya). I. Petrova, S. Filin, A. Uvarov Symphony in C - 2nd movement (G. Balanchine). Bolshoi Ballet. A. Uvarov. Don Quixote (A. Fadeyechev). Bolshoi Ballet. A. Uvarov Three Preludes (B. Stevenson). Houston Ballet. P. Broomhead Gaite Parisienne (L. Massine). American Ballet Theatre. G. Picone Sleeping Beauty (B. Stevenson) Houston Ballet. C. Acosta
2000
*La Fille du Pharaon (P. Lacotte). Bolshoi Ballet. S. Filin *Green (S. Welch). Fadeyechev Dance Theater, S. Filin, D. Belogolovtsev
2001
Esmeralda (B. Stevenson). American Ballet Theatre. J. M. Carreno Sylvia Pas de Deux (G. Balanchine). American Ballet Theatre. J. M. Carreno *Gong (M. Morris) American Ballet Theater. *Opus X (S. Welch). Fadeyechev Dance Theater. S. Filin *Leah (A. Ratmansky). Fadeyechev Dance Theater. G. Picone Swan Lake (R. Nureev). La Scala, Millan. M. Guerra
2002
Offenbach in the Underworld (A. Tudor). American Ballet Theatre. E. Brown
2003
Sleeping Beauty (V. Rona). Hungarian National Ballet. S. Filin
(in alphabetical order; different versions of the same ballet listed in the order they appeared in the ballerina’s repertoire. Ballets, which were created on Ananiashvili, are indicated by an asterisk (*))
01. Anna Karenina - Kitti (Maya Plisetskaya, N. Rizhenko, V. Smirnov-Golovanov) 02. Anyuta (Vasiliev) 03. Apollo (Balanchine) 04. La Bayadere (Petipa-Grigorovich) 05. La Bayadere (N. Makarova) 06. *Charms of Mannerism (A. Ratmansky) 07. Cinderella (F. Ashton) 08. Cinderella (B. Stevenson) 09. *Class. Opus X (T. Voskresenskaya) 10. Coppelia (A. Radunsky) 11. Le Corsaire (M. Petipa) 12. Don Quixote (Chabukiani) 13. Don Quixote (Petipa-Gorsky) 14. Don Quixote (Yu. Grigorovich) 15. Don Quixote (Vasiliev) 16. Don Quixote (R. Nureev) 17. Don Quixote (K. McKenzie) 18. Don Quixote (A. Fadeyechev) 19. *Dreams of Japan (A. Ratmansky) 20. Due (A. Laerkesen) 21. The Dying Swan (Fokine) 22. Esmeralda (B. Stevenson) 23. *La Fille du Pharaon (P. Lacotte) 24. La Fille Mal Gardée (F. Ashton) 25. Firebird (M. Fokine) 26. Flower Festival in Genzano (A. Bournonville) 27. Four Last Songs (R. van Dantzig) 28. Gaite Parisienne (L. Massine) 29. *Green (Welch). 30. *Gong (Morris) 31. Giselle - Myrtha (L. Lavrovsky) 32. Giselle (L. Lavrovsky) 33. Giselle (Yu. Grigorovich) 34. Giselle (P. Wright) 35. Giselle (V. Vasiliev) 36. The Golden Age (Yu. Grigorovich) 37. *Holst Pas de Deux (T. Kask) 38. The Kermesse de Bruges (A. Bournonville) 39. *Leah (A. Ratmansky) 40. *The Little Prince - The Rose (B. Mayorov) 41. Manon (K. MacMillan) 42. The Merry Widow (R. Hynd) 43. *Midsummer Night’s Dream (R. Sund) 44. Miss Julie (B. Cullberg) 45. *Mlada (B. Pokrovsky, A. Petrov) 46. Moods (V. Elizariev) 47. Moon Reindeer (B. Cullberg) 48. Mozartiana (G. Balanchine) 49. Napoli (A. Bournonville, D. Bjorn) 50. The Nutcracker (Yu. Grigorovich) 51. The Nutcracker (P. Wright) 52. *Opus X (S. Welch) 53. Offenbach in the Underworld (A. Tudor) 54. Paquita (Petipa, Kondratieva) 55. Pas de Quatre (A. Dolin) 56. Polacca (A. Laerkesen) 57. Prince of the Pagodas (K. MacMillan) 58. Raymonda (Yu. Grigorovich) 59. Raymonda Variations (G. Balanchine) 60. Romeo and Juliet (Yu. Grigorovich) 61. Romeo and Juliet (L. Lavrovsky) 62. Romeo and Juliet (K. MacMillan) 63. *Rubai (V. Usmanov) 64. Sleeping Beauty (A. Smirnov-Golovanov) 65. Sleeping Beauty (Yu. Grigorvich) 66. Sleeping Beauty (K. Sergeev) 67. Sleeping Beauty (H. Tomasson) 68. Sleeping Beauty (K. MacMillan) 69. Sleeping Beauty (B. Stevenson) 70. Sleeping Beauty (V. Rona) 71. *The Snow Maiden (B. Stevenson) 72. Le Spectre de la Rose (Fokine) 73. Swan Lake - Spanish Bride (Yu. Grigorovich) 74. Swan Lake (Yu. Grigorovich) 75. Swan Lake (V. Chabukiani) 76. Swan Lake (A. Messerer) 77. Swan Lake (K. Sergeev) 78. Swan Lake (O. Vinogradov) 79. Swan Lake (N. Boyarchikov) 80. Swan Lake (D. Blair) 81. Swan Lake (A.-M. Holms) 82. Swan Lake (R. Nureev) 83. La Sylphide (Bournonville, H. Brenaa) 84. La Sylphide (Bournonville, E. Bruhn) 85. La Sylphide (Bournonville, M. Von Rosen) 86. Les Sylphides - Mazurka (M. Fokine) 87. Les Sylphides - Waltz and Prelude (M. Fokine) 88. Sylvia Pas de Deux (G. Balanchine) 89. Symphony in C, 2nd movement (G. Balanchine) 90. Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux (G. Balanchine) 91. Three Preludes (B. Stevenson) 92. Voluntaries (G. Tetley) 93. *The Wooden Prince (Petrov) 94. *Youth (M. Martirosian)
By Mikhail Smodyrev English Translation by Anna Korisch
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