Congratulations to Yekaterina Kondaurova!

Having joined the Mariinsky Ballet Company in 2001 after graduating from the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, the ballerina has travelled the well-known path from corps de ballet to the rank of soloist at the theatre. A recipient of prestigious awards including the Benois de la Danse, the Golden Mask and the Golden Sofit, Kondaurova has inherited the traditions of the Russian classical school, being also very familiar with the neo-classical and Soviet repertoires and having a talent for the language used by modern choreographers such as William Forsythe, Alexei Ratmansky, Pierre Lacotte, Angelin Preljocaj, Kirill Simonov and Emil Faski. The images Kondaurova creates are filled with a unique artistic spirit – “supernatural flexibility,” “expressiveness,” “lightness” and “graciousness.” The dancer appears as a “vision floating over the stage” in the role of Myrtha in Giselle, a “vivid, clever and stately” as well as “stunning and expressive” Aegina in Spartacus, she is “dazzling” in Paquita and a “fateful” and “sensitive” Anna Karenina. Critics have admitted that “in each role she demonstrates unique skill, a precise sense of rhythm and timing” that “utterly enthrals audiences.”