A debut by Xander Parish

On 27 December Xander Parish will be making his debut in the lead male role in the ballet Marguerite and Armand.

In the closing days of the current year, Xander Parish’s repertoire will expand to include yet another major role. 2014 has been a very successful year for the dancer, who made his debuts in lead roles in Swan Lake, Anna Karenina and The Nutcracker in addition to appearing in Mariinsky Theatre premieres of ballets by Hans van Manen and in Sylvia (moreover in a key role). He has also been the recipient of two prestigious European dance awards – the Taglioni Prize in the category “Best Young Male Dancer” and the Léonide Massine Prize as “New Talent on the International Stage” as well as receiving a nomination for the National Dance Awards from the British Critics’ Circle.

The role of Armand marks a watershed in Parish’s career. Without doubt, for many young British male dancers trained at the Royal Ballet School this role in the legendary production by British choreographer Frederick Ashton is a cherished dream. Created for Rudolf Nureyev, for many years the role of Armand was inaccessible to dancers – the choreographer categorically prohibited anyone other than the first performers from approaching the ballet in which the duo of Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev was formed. Today the ballet Marguerite and Armand is once again performed and Xander Parish has the great fortune to become part of the legend. Appearing in this role together with Ulyana Lopatkina at the Mariinsky Theatre is a great honour for the young dancer.