Maria Alexandrova
Leading soloist of the Bolshoi Ballet

Maria Alexandrovna Alexandrova was born in Moscow on July 20th 1978. As a child, she danced with the "Kalinka" ensemble, to which her mother had taken her. After seeing a TV program about the Vaganova School, Maria decided that she wanted to study ballet seriously, and in 1988 entered the Moscow Choreographic Academy.

In grades 1-3, Alexandrova studied in the class of L.A. Kolenchenko. This is when she learned her first roles - the pas de trois from "The Nutcracker" and the Doll from "Coppelia". From the 4th grade up to level 1 she was taught by L.B. Dobrzhan, and during this period her repertoire was enriched by a role in "The Cranes" (chor. G.A. Mayorov), in which she was partnered by Maxim Korolev and Roman Tselischev, and by the pas de deux from "Coppelia" which she danced with Dimitry Gudanov. Alexandrova spent the last two years of study in the class of Sofia Golovkina, and it was during this period that she first danced variations from the Grand Pas of "Paquita", Adam's "Classical Pas de deux" (chor. L. Lavrovsky), Auber's "Grand Pas Classique" (chor. Gsovsky), and Seventh Waltz in "Les Sylphides" (her partner in the three latter roles was Nikolay Tsiskaridze). At the graduation performance, Alexandrova danced "Grand Pas Classique" with Tsiskaridze, and took part in the Grand Pas from "Paquita". She and Nina Kaptsova were in the same class throughout their time at the School. Having graduated in 1996, Alexandrova spent another year at the school as an apprentice.

In June of 1997, Maria Alexandrova received the first prize and the golden medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition. She danced Gamsatti's variation from "La Bayadere" and Swanilda's variation from "Coppelia" during the first round of the competition. During the second round she performed Masha's variation from "The Nutcracker", Esmeralda's variation and a contemporary number called "Tutu" (chor. by N. Ogrizkov) Her victory was secured by her performance of Odile's variation ("Swan Lake") and the variation from "Grand Pas Classique" in the third and final round of the competition. At the closing gala she and Nikolay Tsiskaridze danced Auber's "Grand Pas Classique".

Immediately after the competition, Alexandrova was taken into the Bolshoi Company. She worked in class with Marina Semenova and later moved to Svetlana Adirkhaeva. She prepares her roles with Tatiana Golikova. She has worked with Tatiana Terekhova, Nikolay Fadeechev, and Boris Eifman on some roles in her repertoire.

During the 1997-1998 season Alexandrova was officially in the corps de ballet, though she danced soloist roles. She danced in the corps de ballet in the Shades scene of "La Bayadere" and in the Red Visions scene in "The Legend of Love". She also danced a dryad in Don Quixote once, and once as a Snowflake in the "Nutcracker".

On October 19, 1997, Maria danced her first solo role - Queen of the Ball in "Fantasy on the Casanova Theme" by M. Lavrovsky. Dmitry Gudanov as Casanova and Irina Semirechenskaya as the Lady of One's Heart made their debuts in the same performance.

On November 17, 1997, at the Lincoln Center gala honoring Diaghilev, Maria Alexandrova and Nikolay Tsiskaridze danced Auber's "Grand Pas Classique".

On November 28,1997, Alexandrova debuted in a variation in the Grand Pas of "Don Quixote".

On the 8th of December 1997, Alexandrova performed solo parts in the ballet "Four Kisses" by Yorg Mannes and in a number choreographed by Stephen Fredenreich, which were presented at the Bolshoi as part of the "New Year Premieres" program.

In December 1997, the Bolshoi premiered a new version of Giselle, choreographed by Vladimir Vasiliev. On December 27, at the second performance of the ballet, Alexandrova made her debut as Myrtha. Giselle was danced by Svetlana Lunkina (also in her first season with the Company) and Albrecht by Nikolay Tsiskaridze.

In February 1998, as part of an exchange tour with the Kirov Ballet, Alexandrova danced the role of Myrtha in St. Petersburg.

At the start of the 1998-1999 season, Alexandrova was promoted to coryphee.

On November 29, 1998, Maria Alexandrova debuted in Alexey Ratmansky's ballet "Dreams of Japan" in a role originaly made on Tatiana Terekhova. Alexandrova was taught the part by a Bolshoi prima ballerina Inna Petrova.

In December 1998, the Bolshoi presented world premiere of Yorg Mannes' ballet "The Troubles of Love". The main roles in this work were performed by Maria Alexandrova, Natalia Malandina, Artem Vakhtin, and Ilya Rizhakov.

On January 20, 1999 Alexandrova debuted in the second shade variation in the Shades Scene of "La Bayadere".

On the 1st of February 1999, during a gala honoring Ekaterina Maximova, Alexandrova performed a variation in the Grand Pas of "Don Quixote".

In April of 1999, the Bolshoi mounted two works by George Balanchine for the first time -Agon and Symphony in C. At the premiere, Alexandrova danced the lead in the third movement of Symphony in C partnered by Nikolay Tsiskaridze. The Balanchine ballets remained in the Bolshoi repertoire until the fall of 2000, and throughout that time Alexandrova and Tsiskaridze were the only ones to perform the leads in the third movement of Symphony in C.

In May of 1999, Alexandrova debuted in the Mazurka in "Les Sylphides".

In July of 1999, The Bolshoi premiered Alexey Fadeechev's version of "Don Quixote" in which Maria performed the role of the Street Dancer in one of the casts.

At the end of 1998-1999 season, Alexandrova was promoted to a soloist (the distinction between first and second soloists did not yet exist at the Bolshoi)

In the summer of 1999, Alexandrova took part in the Bolshoi's tour to London. During the tour, she debuted in the "Dream" variation in "Raymonda".

Throughout October of 1999, the ballet company of the Bolshoi Theatre toured Japan, performing in Tokyo and nine other cities. The ballets presented were "Giselle", "Don Quixote" and a concert program. Maria Alexandrova took part in this tour.

On 25, 26 and 27 of November 1999, the Bolshoi Ballet toured Hong-Kong for the first time. Maria Alexandrova performed the role of the Street Dancer in "Don Quixote" during that engagement.

In February of 2000, the Bolshoi staged Boris Eifman's "Russian Hamlet". The second cast for this production included Maria Alexandrova (The Empress), Dmitry Gudanov (The Heir), and Dmitry Belogolovtsev (The Favorite).

In March of 2000 on the stage of The Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theater in Moscow, there took place a presentation ceremony/gala for the "Ballet Magazine" "Soul of the Dance" award. Alexandrova received the award in the "Rising Star" category. She danced a pas de deux from "Russian Hamlet" partnered by Dmitry Belogolovtsev.

On March 26 of 2000, Maria Alexandrova debuted as Kitri in Don Quixote. Her Basilio was Dmitry Belogolovtsev.

In April of 2000, during a jubilee gala in honor of Vladimir Vasiliev Alexandrova performed an excerpt from Vasiliev's "Macbeth".

In May of 2000, the Bolshoi premiered "La Fille du Pharaon", a ballet choreographed by Pierre Lacotte especially for the Bolshoi Ballet after the Petipa ballet of the same name. The premiere took place on May 5th and at that performance Maria Alexandrova danced the role of the slave girl Ramze. On May 7th, she danced the Congo River. She was nominated on the " Golden Mask" Award for her performance as Ramze. However, the ballet was removed from competition by the then-current leadership of the Theatre.

Also in May, Alexandrova took part in a gala concert in Madrid where she was partnered by Igor Yebra.

In the summer of 2000, the Bolshoi went on a five-week tour of the US. The Company danced in Washington D.C., Chicago, L.A., Seattle, and Orange County, followed by performances in Lincoln Center (NY) During this tour Alexandrova danced the role of Myrtha in "Giselle", Kitri in " Don Quixote", and the lead in the third movement of "Symphony in C". She also debuted in a role of Juliet's Friend in the ballet "Romeo and Juliet".

In 2000 Alexandrova became a leading soloist with the Bolshoi - the second position from above in the Bolshoi hierarchy.

In the Fall of 2000, Maria Alexandrova and Nikolay Tsiskaridze took part in a concert in honor of the 85th birthday of the Dean of the Moscow Choreographic Academy Sofia Golovkina. They danced Auber's "Grand Pas Classique". At around the same time Alexandrova performed the pas de deux from "Russian Hamlet" and the Diana and Acteon pas de deux from "Esmeralda" in a "Constellation-2000" concert. She was partnered by Dimitry Belogolovtsev.

On the 20th of November 2000, during a gala in honor of Maya Plisetskaya's jubilee, Maria Alexandrova, along with Galina Stepanenko, Irina Surneva (Imperial Russian Ballet), Vladimir Neporozhniy, Yuriy Klevtsov, and Aleksey Ratmansky performed a suite of dances from "Don Quixote".

On the 10th of December 2000, Alexandrova debuted in the role of Gamzatti in "La Bayadere". Her partners were Nikolay Tsiskaridze (Solor) and Galina Stepanenko (Nikya).

In December of 2000, Alexandrova, along with other dancers from the Bolshoi, took part in an annual "Winter Evenings" festival in Yoshkar-Ola.

On the 26th of December 2000, Aleksey Fadeechev's Dance Theatre premiered Stanton Welch's ballet "Green", which was made on Nina Ananiashvili, Sergey Filin, and Dmitry Belogolovtsev. The program also included Ratmasky's "Dreams of Japan" which was danced by Nina Ananiashvili, Maria Alexandrova, Inna Petrova, Sergei Filin, Andrey Uvarov, Dmitry Belogovtsev, and Yuriy Klevtsov.

On February 3, 2001, The Bolshoi presented a performance of "La Bayadere" in honor of the 100th birthday of Vasiliy Vaynonen. Maria Alexandrova danced Gamzatti, Anna Antonichieva performed the role of Nikya and Vladimir Neporozhniy was Solor.

In 2001 Bolshoi Theatre celebrated its 225 anniversary. Some of the Company's members received various awards. Maria Alexandrova received a badge "For Cultural Achievement".

On March 2, 2001, the Bolshoi presented a new Grigorovich version of "Swan Lake". At the premiere, Alexandrova performed in the pas de trois of the first act and danced the role of the Spanish Bride in the second act. Also in March she danced Kitri in "Don Quixote" at the seventh festival in memory of Rudolf Nureev in Ufa. Her partner was Mark Peretokin.

On the 28th of March 2001, at a gala dedicated to the 225th anniversary of the Bolshoi Theatre, Alexandrova performed a variation in the Grand Pas of "Don Quixote".

In April 2001, Alexey Fadeechev's Dance Theatre presented three ballets - "Between Heaven and Earth" (Trey McIntire), Ratmansky's "Charms of Mannerisms", and the world premiere of Welch's "Opus X". Alexandrova danced the first movement in "Between Heaven and Earth" with Ruslan Pronin.

In the spring of 2001, the Bolshoi performed in London's Drury Lane Theatre. During that tour Alexandrova danced a pas de deux from "Don Quixote" with Andrey Uvarov.

In June 2001 Alexandrova danced in Khanti-Mansiysk in the "Sea gull" Theatre Festival.

On June 30 and July 1 2001, Alexandrova danced Kitri in "Don Quixote" with the Russian Chamber Ballet "Moscow". She was partnered by Mark Peretokin and Vladimir Neporozhniy. She danced a third performance of the ballet with that company in the fall of 2001.

In September 2001, The Bolshoi invited three international stars to perform with the company - Jose Manuel Carreno, Johan Kobborg, and Vladimir Malakhov. Cuban-born Carreno, a principal with American Ballet Theater, danced two performances of "Don Quixote". His Kitri was Maria Alexandrova. Malakhov danced two performances of "Giselle" with Svetlana Lunkina, and in one of those performances, Alexandrova danced the role of Myrtha.

In the fall of 2001, in Athens' "Megaron" Theater, Alexandrova danced Myrtha in "Giselle" while the main roles were performed by Yulia Makhalina and Igor Zelensky with the corps de ballet of State Theatre of Sofia. At another performance Albrecht was danced by Vladimir Malakhov.

In October 2001 Maria Alexandrova and Dmitry Belogolovtsev danced in Khanti-Mansiysk on the closing gala of the "Sea gull" Theatre Festival.

On December 7, 2001, the Bolshoi held a gala in honor of Nina Ananiashvili's 20th anniversary in the company at which Alexandrova performed in the "Dreams of Japan".

From December 10 of 2001 to January 1 of 2002 Bolshoi Ballet performed in Torino, Italy, in the "Regio" theatre. The ballets shown were "Swan Lake", "Sleeping Beauty" and "Nutckracker". Maria Alexandrova took part in the tour.

On January 14 the Friends Of Bolshoi Ballet society organized a fan meeting with Maria Alexandrova in the Bakhrushin Treatre Museum.

In February 2002, the Bolshoi restored "La Fille du Pharaon" in the repertory. On opening night (02/12/02) Alexandrova danced the role of Ramze. Next night she danced the Congo River variation. The performances took place on the stage of the Kremlin Palace Theater in Moscow.

On March 14th 2002, Maria Alexandrova, Juliana Malhasyans, Vladimir Moiseev, and Anna Antropova danced a suite from "Don Quixote" at the "Ballet Magazine"'s " Soul of the Dance" ceremony. The ceremony was held on the stage of Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater.

On May 18th 2002, Alexandrova debuted in the role of Aegina in Yuriy Grigorovich's "Spartacus". Dmitry Belogolovtsev was Spartacus, Mark Pererokin was Krass, Phrigia was danced by Anna Antonichieva.

From May 30th to June 4th of 2002, the Bolshoi Ballet took part in a Ballet Festival in Savonlinna, Finland. Alexandrova danced Kitri to Sergey Filin's Basilio in a performance of "Don Quixote". Altogether, the Bolshoi gave two performances of "Swan Lake" and three of "Don Quixote".

From the 10th to the 17th of June 2002, The Bolshoi Ballet performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. There, Alexandrova danced the role of Gamzatti in "La Bayadere" (The role of Nikya was taken on by A. Volochkova, E. Ivanchenko was Solor). Maria also danced in the first act pas de trois, as well as a Spanish Bride in Grigorovich's "Swan Lake".

In August 2002, Alexandrova, together with Nikolay Tsiskaridze, took part in a gala dedicated to the opening of a new theater in Apollo, California. They performed " Grand Pas Classique" and the pas de deux from "Sheherezade". Alexandrova also danced the Spanish Bride variation from "Swan Lake".

Later in the August 2002 Maria Alexandrova and other dancers from the Bolshoi performed in Tumen and Nizhnevartovk. The tour was organized by Alfa-Bank.

In the beginning of September 2002, Alexandrova and other dancers from the Bolshoi danced in South-Sahalinsk and Vladivostok.

On September 10, 2002, Bolshoi Ballet opened the new season with a performance of "Swan Lake" dedicated to the memory of Evgeniy Svetlanov. While the role of Odette/Odile was taken by Anastasia Volochkova, Seigfried was danced by E. Ivanchenko, and the Evil Genius by Dmitry Belogolovtsev, Alexandrova performed the Spanish Bride and in the first act pas de trois. The ballet was shown live on the "Kultura" channel.

In September 2002, the Bolshoi took part in festival in Cannes, France. Alexandrova danced the pas de deux from "Don Quixote".

On the 6th of October 2002, Maria Alexandrova made her debut in the title role of "La Sylphide". The role of James was danced by Dmitry Gudanov.

On October 18, 2002, during a gala concert dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Maria Alexandrova and Ekaterina Shipulina performed variations in the "Don Quixote" Grand Pas. The main roles were taken by A. Volochkova and E. Ivanchenko.

From the end of October to mid-December 2002, the Bolshoi Ballet toured the United States with performances in Seattle, Detroit, Washington D.C. and many other cities. The ballets shown were "La Bayadere", "Swan Lake", and "The Nutcracker". Alexandrova danced Gamzatti and a Shade variation in "La Bayadere", as well as the first act pas de trois and the Spanish Bride in "Swan Lake".

At the end of December 2002, the Athens' "Megaron" Theater presented a series of "Giselles" performed by invited soloists and the corps de ballet of State Theatre of Sofia. In all eight performances, Myrtha was danced by Maria Alexandrova. Vishneva/Malakhov and Zakharova/Zelensky alternated in the main roles of the ballet.

On January 30, 2003, a gala concert in honor of the 25th anniversary of The Bolshoi Percussion Ensemble was held on the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theater. Alexey Ratmansky's "Dreams of Japan" was presented at the gala, danced by Nina Ananiashvili, Maria Alexandrova, Inna Petrova, Sergey Filin, Dmitry Belogolovtsev, Dmitry Gudanov, and Vladimir Neporozhniy.

On March 30, 2003, Alexandrova performed one of the variations in the "Shades" scene from "La Bayadere". The other two variations were danced by Elena Andrienko and Maria Allash. Nikya and Solor were performed by Nadezhda Gracheva and Andrey Uvarov, respectively. The ballet was given as part of an evening dedicated to Marina Kodratieva's 50th anniversary at the Bolshoi.

In April of 2003, the Bolshoi premiered "The Bright Stream", a new ballet choreographed by Alexey Ratmansky especially for the Company. The first performance, which was given on April 18th, took place on the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theater. The lead roles were performed by Inna Petrova (Zina), Yuri Klevtsov (Petr), Maria Alexandrova (Ballerina), and Sergey Filin (Classical Dancer).

On May 1, 2003, Maria Alexandrova debuted in the role of Esmeralda in Roland Petit's "Notre Dame de Paris". She was partnered by Nikolay Tsiskaridze (Quasimodo), Jan Godovsky (Frollo), and Vladimr Neporozhniy (Phoebus).

In May of 2003, a reworked version of Grigorovich’s “Raymonda” returned to the Bolshoi repertory. Alexandrova danced Clemance at the first performance on May 10.

Also in May of 2003, the Bolshoi went on a short tour of Germany. The program consisted of “Les Sylphides” and a divertissement. Alexandrova took part in that tour.

On May 26, 2003, the Bolshoi celebrated the 70th birthday and 50th anniversary of Nikolay Fadeechev’s work with the company. Alexandrova danced the first variation in the “Shades” scene of “La Bayadere” at the company gala.

In the beginning of June, 2003, the company performed “Swan Lake” and “Spartacus” at the ballet festival in Savonlinna, Finland. Alexandrova danced Aegina in “Spartacus” at that engagement.

On the 29th of June, 2003, at the closing gala of the Royal Ballet’s tour to Moscow, Alexandrova and Carlos Acosta danced the pas de deux from “Le Corsaire”. Alexandrova also danced the first variation in the “Don Quixote” Grand Pas. (Kitri and Basilio were danced by Marianella Nunez and Andrey Uvarov).

In July of 2003, Alexandrova, partnered by Denis Matvienko, danced the “Don Quixote” pas de deux and the pas de deux from the Grand Pas of “La Bayadere” at a gala in Apollo, California.

At the end of July/beginning of August, 2003, Alexandrova and Sergey Filin performed excerpts from “La Sylphide”, “Raymonda”, and Lavrovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet” in Japan.

At the end of August, 2003, Alexandrova again danced in Apollo, California. She performed a pas de deux from “Romeo and Juliet” with Kirov’s Ilya Kuznetsov, Kitri’s first act variation, and the first variation in Dolin’s “Pas de Quatre” (the other ballerinas were Olga Pavlova, Maria Mosina, and Bolshoi’s Galina Stepanenko).

On September 4, 2003, the Bolshoi Ballet opened the season with Alexei Ratmansy’s “The Limpid Stream” (New Stage). Alexandrova, partnered by Filin, danced the Ballerina. The performance was shown live on the Kultura Channel.

On September 14, 2003, Alexandrova made her debut as Mekhmene Banu in “The Legend of Love”. Alexander Volchkov danced Ferkhad and Marianna Ryzhkina danced Shirin.

On October 16, 2003, Alexandrova and Ruslan Skvortsov made their respective debuts as Aspiccia and Taor in Lacotte’s “La Fille du Pharaon”.

On October 27, 29, and 31, 2003, “La Fille du Pharaon” was filmed by the French television company Bel Air for subsequent release on DVD. Alexandrova danced the role of Ramze at those performances.

On November 28, 2003, Alexandrova and Mark Peretokin danced Crassus and Aegina’s pas de deux from “Spartacus” at Ilze Liepa’s benefit gala. The gala took place at the “Oktiabrsky” Concert Hall in St. Petersburg.

On December 13, 2003, the Bolshoi premiered a new production of Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet”. It was choreographed by Radu Poklitaru and directed by Declan Donnellan. The title roles were taken by Denis Savin and Maria Alexandrova, respectively.

At the end of December 2003, a touring group, “Malakhov and Friends”, performed at the Athens’ “Megaron” Theater. Maria Alexandrova and Sergey Filin danced selections from “Raymonda” and “Russian Hamlet”.

The Bolshoi Ballet performed in Paris in January 2004. “Swan Lake”, “La Fille du Pharaon”, and “The Limpid Stream” were shown at the Palais Garnier from January 7th to January 24th. Maria Alexandrova danced in the first act pas de trois and the Spanish Bride in “Swan Lake”. She also danced both Ramze and Aspiccia (partnered by Ruslan Skvortsov) in “La Fille du Pharaon”, as well as the Ballerina in “The Limpid Stream” (partnered by Yan Godovsky). Alexandrova also performed a selection from “Russian Hamlet” at the Bolshoi gala in Versailles.

On February 18, 2004, three artists made their debut in the Bolshoi’s Sleeping Beauty – Svetlana Zakharova (Aurora), Alexander Volchkov (Desire), Maria Alexandrova (Lilac Fairy).

On February 29, 2004, Maria Alexandrova and Dmitry Gudanov danced the pas de deux from “La Sylphide” in the “Soul of the Dance” award gala. The gala took place on the Bolshoi’s New Stage.

On March 12, 13, 14, 2004, the Bolshoi Ballet premiered their new Balanchine program, consisting of “Concerto Barocco”, “Thaikovsky pas de deux”, “Tarantella”, “Sylvia pas de deux”, and also “Agon” and “Symphony C” – the latter two entered the company’s repertoire in 1999. On the first day Maria Alexandrova and Sergei Filin appeared in the “Tchaikovsky pas de deux”.

On April 10, 2004, Maria Alexandrova danced the lead in the third movement of Balanchine’s “Symphony C”, for the first time since the ballet returned into the Bolshoi’s repertoire. Her partner was Alexander Vorobiev.

On April 12, 2004, Alexandrova received the Golden Mask Award for her performance of The Ballerina in Ratmansky’s “Bright Stream”.

On April 27, 28, 2004, on the stage of Moscow’s New Opera Theatre there were performances of Irma Nioradze’s company. Maria Alexandrova and Viacheslav Samodurov danced Balanchine’s “Tchaikovsky pas de deux”.

On May 16, 2004, at the gala dedicated to Galina Ulanova at the Bolshoi Theatre, Maria Alexandrova and Alexander Vorobiev danced the leading parts in the third movement of “Symphony in C”.

In May 2004 the Bolshoi premiered a new program consisting of Radu Poklitaru’s “Ward №6”, Yuri Possokhov’s “Magrittomania” and Alexei Ratmansky’s “Leah”. At the second performance on May 22 Maria Alexandrova and Dmitry Gudanov performed the leading roles in “Leah”.

On June 10, 2004, the Bolshoi organized a gala evening for Igor Moiseev’s company, as a tribute to Moiseev’s 80 years in ballet. The Bolshoi Ballet danced a fragment from Moiseev’s “Spartacus” - Maria Alexandrova and Rinat Arifulin performed “The shepherd and the nymph” duet.

On June 24th and 25th of 2004, Maria Alexandrova and Dmitriy Gudanov danced the principal parts in “La Fille du Pharaon”. It was Gudanov’s debut in the role of Taor. After the June 25th performance, Alexei Ratmansky, the Artistic Director of the Bolshoi, came on stage to announce that both Alexandrova and Gudanov were being promoted to the rank of principal dancer.

The Bolshoi Ballet was giving performances in London, at the Covent Garden, from July 19th to August 7th of 2004. The ballets shown during that tour were "Don Quixote", "Swan Lake", "La Fille du Pharaon", "Spartacus", and the Donnellan-Poklitaru staging of "Romeo and Juliet". Maria Alexandrova opened the engagement, dancing Kitri in "Don Quixote" with Sergey Filin as her Basilio. She later danced the Street Dancer in the same ballet, a Prince's Friend and the Spanish Bride in "Swan Lake", Juliet to Denis Savin's Romeo, Ramze and Aspiccia (with Dmitriy Gudanov) in "La Fille du Pharaon".

On September 1, 2004, the winners of professional prizes, instituted by the Bolshoi’s Board of Trustees, were announced. Maria Alexandrova and other “Golden Mask” laureates were among them.

The Bolshoi toured North America and Mexico from October to mid November of 2004. The Company gave performances in Boston, Minneapolis, Seattle, Berkley, Chicago, and Mexico City. The repertory for the tour consisted of “Raymonda”, “Don Quixote”, the Donnellan-Poklitaru “Romeo and Juliet”, and Vasiliev’s version of “Giselle”. The tour opened in Boston with “Raymonda” in which Alexandrova danced Clemance. She also danced Kitri (with Yuriy Klevtsov and Sergey Filin) and Juliet (with Denis Savin)

Maria Alexandrova is a recipient of:

1997 - Ist prize and the golden medal at the Moscow IBC.
1999 - the "Ballet Magazine" "Soul of the Dance" award in the category "Rising Star".
2001 - badge "For cultural achievement".
2004 - The Golden Mask Award for her performance in The Bright Stream.

Her repertoire includes:

Fairy Violante, "Sleeping Beauty" (М. Petipa, staged by Yu. Grigorovich).
1st variation from Grand Pas of "Don Quixote". (M. Petipa, A. Gorsky, staged by Yu. Grigorovich) 1997.
1st variation from Grand Pas of "Don Quixote". (M. Petipa, A. Gorsky , staged by A. Fadeechev).
Pas de six, "Taming of the Shrew" (J. Cranko), 1997.
1st, 2nd, and 3rd Shade variations in "La Bayadere" (М. Petipa, V. Chabukiani, staged by Yu. Grigorovich).
Queen of the Ball, "Fantasy on the Casanova Theme" (М. Lavrovsky), 1997.
Myrtha, "Giselle" (J. Perrault, J. Coralli, staged by V. Vasilliev), 1997.
Solois, "Four Kisses" (Y. Mannes), 1997.
Soloist, "The Troubles of Love" (Y. Mannes), 1998.
Soloist, "Dreams of Japan" (A. Ratmansky), 1998.
Street Dancer, "Don Quixote" (M. Petipa, A. Gorsky, staged by Yu. Grigorovich), 1998.
Soloist III Movement, "Symphony in C" (G. Balanchine), 1999.
Mazurka, "Les Sylphides" (M. Fokin), 1999.
Street Dancer, "Don Quixote" (M. Petipa, A. Gorsky, staged by A. Fadeechev), 1999.
Dream Variation, "Raymonda" (M. Petipa, staged by Yu. Grigorovich), 1999.
Gamzatti, "La Bayadere" (M. Petipa, V. Chabukiani, staged by Yu. Grigorovich), 2000.
Kitri, "Don Quixote" (M. Petipa, A. Gorsky staged by A. Fadeechev), 2000.
The Empress, "Russian Hamlet" (B. Eifman), 2000.
Ramze, "La Fille du Pharaon" (M. Petipa, P. Lacotte), 2000.
Congo River, "La Fille du Pharaon" (M. Petipa, P. Lacotte), 2000.
Juliet's Friend, "Romeo and Juliet" (L. Lavrovsky), 2000.
Pas de trois, "Swan Lake" (M. Petipa, L. Ivanov, staged by Yu. Grigorovich), 2001.
Spanish Bride, "Swan Lake" (M. Petipa, L. Ivanov, staged by Yu. Grigorovich), 2001.
Soloist 1st Movement, "Between Heaven and Earth" (T. McIntire ), 2001.
11th waltz "Les Sylphides" (M. Fokin), 2001.
Aegina, "Spartacus" (Yu. Grigorovich), 2002.
Sylphide, "La Sylphide" (A. Bournonville, E-M. Von Rozen), 2002.
Ballerina, "Bright Stream" (A. Ratmansky), 2003.
Esmeralda, "Notre Dame de Paris" (R. Petit), 2003.
Clemance, "Raymonda" (M. Petipa, staged by Yu. Grigorovich), 2003.
First variaton, "Pas de quatre" (A. Dolin), 2003.
Mekhmene Banu, “The Legend of Love” (Yu. Grigorovich), 2003.
Aspiccia, "La Fille du Pharaon" (M. Petipa, P. Lacotte), 2003.
Juliet, "Romeo and Juliet" (R. Poklitaru, D. Donnellan), 2003.
Lilac Fairy, "Sleeping Beauty" (М. Petipa, staged by Yu. Grigorovich), 2004.
Soloist, “Tchaikovsky pas de deux” (G. Balanchine), 2004.
Leah, "Leah" (A. Ratmansky), 2004.

Alexandrova's concert repertoire includes:

"Grand Pas Classique" Auber-Gsovsky.
Diana and Acteon Pas de Deux from "Esmeralda".
Pas de deux from "Le Corsaire".
Pas de deux from "Sheherezade".
Pas de deux from "Raymonda".
Pas de deux from "Romeo and Juliet" (L. Lavrovsky).
“The shepherd and the nymph” (I. Moiseev).

Ludmila Dukova English translation by Anna Korisch