Download Nikolai Tsiskaridze, acting principal of the Vaganova

Nikolai Tsiskaridze, acting principal of the Vaganova Ballet Academy
Nikolai Tsiskaridze was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, in 1973. Не started dancing at the age of 11,
training at the Tbilisi State Choreographic School. In 1987 he was admitted to the Bolshoi
Ballet Academy in Moscow (class of Professor Piotr Pestov).
Invited by Yuri Grigorovich, Nikolai joined the Bolshoi Ballet in 1992, where he studied with
Galina Ulanova, Marina Semyonova and Nikolai Fadeyechev.
After a brief period in the corps de ballet, he became a Principal in 1995. Over the course of
his dance career Nikolai Tsiskaridze has performed over 70 roles in major classical works as
well as in ballets by Yury Grigorovich, Leonid Lavrovsky, Mikhail Fokine, Kasian
Goleyzovsky, Roland Petit, John Neumeier, Pierre Lacotte, Rudolf Nureyev, George
Balanchine, William Forsythe, Kenneth MacMillan, Boris Eifman, Fleming Flindt, Christopher
Wheeldon, Nacho Duato. His most prominent roles include Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet), The
Master of Ceremonies (The Golden Age), the Nutcracker Prince (The Nutcracker), Prince
Siegfried and Rothbart (Swan Lake), James (La Sylphide), the title role in Paganini (by L.
Lavrovsky), Ferkhad (The Legend of Love), Solor and the Bronze Idol (La Bayadère), Prince
Desire, the Blue Bird and Carabosse (The Sleeping Beauty), Albrecht (Giselle), Jean de
Brienne (Raymonda), Lord Wilson/Taor (The Pharaoh´s Daughter), Theseus/Oberon (A
Midsummer Night's Dream), Quasimodo (Notre-Dame de Paris), Chevalier des Grieux
(Manon), Conrad (Le Corsaire), Teacher (The Lesson), Lucien d'Hervilly (Paquita), Le Jeune
Homme (Le Jeune Homme et la Mort) as well the title roles in Les Sylphides, Le Spectre de
la Rose, Afternoon of a Faun, Symphony in C, Rubies (from Jewels by G. Balanchine),
Narcissus, In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated and Fallen Angel.
In 2001 Nikolai Tsiskaridze was selected by Roland Petit to create the demanding title role of
Hermann in The Queen of Spades exclusively choreographed for the Bolshoi Theatre.
Since 1997 Nikolai Tsiskaridze has regularly performed with the Mariinsky Ballet and in
December 2001 made his debut at the Paris Opera as Solor in La Bayadère (by Rudolf
Nureyev), having repeated his appearance with the Paris Opera Ballet as
Drosselmeyer/Prince in The Nutcracker (by Rudolf Nureyev) in 2009. He also participated in
most of the foreign tours of the Bolshoi Ballet, “Kings of the Dance” international project, Les
Saisons Russes du XXI Siecle as well as in various international ballet galas.
In 1996 Nikolai Tsiskaridze graduated from the Teacher Training Department of the Moscow
Ballet Academy and since 2003 had been teaching a daily ballet class at the Bolshoi Theatre
combining his dance career with coaching. Besides, since 2004 he had been also teaching at
the Moscow Ballet Academy.
Since July 2011, Nikolai Tsiskaridze is a member of the President's Council for Culture and
Arts. On June 30, 2013 he left the Bolshoi Theatre and on October 28, 2013 was appointed
acting principal of the Vaganova Ballet Academy.
Nikolai Tsiskaridze has received the following honours: Silver medal at the Osaka Ballet
Competition (1995), Golden medal at the Moscow Ballet Competition (1997), Honoured Artist
of Russia (1997), Russian Golden Mask theatrical prize (1998, 2000, 2003),Benois de la
Danse (1999), People´s Artist of Russia (2001), State Prize of the Russian Federation (2001,
2003), Order of Honour of the Republic of Georgia (2003), Danza&Danza award as best
dancer of the year 2003, Triumph prize (2004), Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
de la République Française (2006), People's Artist of North Osetia — Alania Republic
(2013).