Lada Sartakova, Denis Klepikov, Vladislav Rzhevsky and the Coach-repetituers Natalia Raldugina and Alexander Kurkov became prize-winners at the All-Russian Competition of Ballet Dancers and Choreographers, held in Yoshkar-Ola from April 19 to April 26, 2025.
Now the winners for the Classical Dance nomination and Special Michael Fokine nominations are announced. The first soloists of the Ballet Company of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, Lada Sartakova and Denis Klepikov, received 1st prizes in the Duet nomination (senior group). Vladislav Rzhevsky, a dancer of the Ballet Company, was awarded special prize for the best choreography of a dancing performance specially staged for the Competition. Moreover, the Coach-repetiteur Natalia Raldugina and the Ballet Director Alexander Kurkov, Honored Artist of Russia, were awarded special prize for coaches successfully preparing participants in the Competition (senior group).
This year the Competition is dedicated to the 145th anniversary of the birth of Michael Fokine, an outstanding ballet dancer, choreographer and educator. The competitive selection of participants included several rounds. Lada Sartakova and Denis Klepikov were distantly selected though the entry list included 120 applicants from 23 Russian cities, and later they successfully demonstrated their skills in live contests.
For the Classical Dance nomination, the dancers performed pas de deux from The Nutcracker and pas d’esclave from Le Corsaire choreographed by Eldar Aliev. As part of the Special Michael Fokine nomination, the soloists presented the contemporary choreographic piece QuintAv to music from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2, which was choreographed by Vladislav Rzhevsky.
