Yuri Smekalov

Choreographer

• Prizewinner at the XI International Ballet Dancers' and Choreographers' Competition in the category "Choreographer" (Moscow, 2009).
• Recipient of the Golden Mask, Russia's most prestigious theatre prize, for "Best Male Role" in the ballet The Seagull (as Trigorin, season 2007-2008).
• Diploma-recipient at the Benois de la danse festival 2008.
• Diploma-recipient of the Golden Sofit, St Petersburg's most prestigious theatre prize (2008)

Born in Nizhny Tagil.
Graduated from the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in 1998 (class of Yuri Shatalov).
From 1998-2009, he was a soloist with the Boris Eifman St Petersburg State Academic Ballet Theatre, where he danced the lead roles in ballets including Don Quixote, or Fantasies of a Madman, Tchaikovsky, The Karamazovs, Red Giselle, Russian Hamlet, Don Juan and Moliиre, Who is Who and The Seagull. As a guest artist, he has appeared in the ballets Spartacus (Spartacus) at the Mikhailovsky Theatre and Andro-Geny (Zeus) at the Leonid Yakobson Theatre.
As a choreographer, he has staged Autumn Gold – verba volant, scripta manent (Words Fly away, What Is Written Remains), a project in memory of Georgy Alexidze, Parting, a choreographic miniature performed by Yevgenia Obraztsova and Vladimir Shklyarov (MALAKHOV AND FRIENDS). In the 2003-2004 season, Yuri Smekalov worked as Yevgeny Plushchenko's choreographer: short programme to the music Nyah, free programme to Edvin Minton's music Violin Fantasy, to which Plushchenko performed at Campbell's Figure Skating Classics (New York, USA, 2003), MasterCard Skate Canada (Mississauga, Canada, 2003), the Trophйe Lalique (Paris, France, 2003), Cup of Russia Gallina Blanca (Moscow, 2003), the International Figure Skating Challenge (Auburn Hills, USA, 2003), the ISU Grand Prix Final (Colorado Springs, USA, 2003), the Russian Championships (St Petersburg, 2004), the European Championships (Budapest, 2004) and the World Championships (Dortmund, 2004).
In the 2008-2009 season, Yuri Smekalov worked as a choreographer with figure skater Artur Gachinsky (coach – Alexei Mishin) and prepared the programmes Narcissus and The Hermit.
Yuri Smekalov has been a Mariinsky Theatre soloist since February 2009.

Repertoire at the Mariinsky Theatre includes:
Le Corsaire (Birbanto);
The Sleeping Beauty (one of Aurora's Suitors);
Raymonda (Abderchaman);
Romeo and Juliet (Tybald);
The Little humpbacked hourse (Gentleman of the Bedchaber, Horses, Sea horses)

• Prizewinner at the XI International Ballet Dancers' and Choreographers' Competition in the category "Choreographer" (Moscow, 2009).
• Recipient of the Golden Mask, Russia's most prestigious theatre prize, for "Best Male Role" in the ballet The Seagull (as Trigorin, season 2007-2008).
• Diploma-recipient at the Benois de la danse festival 2008.
• Diploma-recipient of the Golden Sofit, St Petersburg's most prestigious theatre prize (2008)

Born in Nizhny Tagil.
Graduated from the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in 1998 (class of Yuri Shatalov).
From 1998-2009, he was a soloist with the Boris Eifman St Petersburg State Academic Ballet Theatre, where he danced the lead roles in ballets including Don Quixote, or Fantasies of a Madman, Tchaikovsky, The Karamazovs, Red Giselle, Russian Hamlet, Don Juan and Moliиre, Who is Who and The Seagull. As a guest artist, he has appeared in the ballets Spartacus (Spartacus) at the Mikhailovsky Theatre and Andro-Geny (Zeus) at the Leonid Yakobson Theatre.
As a choreographer, he has staged Autumn Gold – verba volant, scripta manent (Words Fly away, What Is Written Remains), a project in memory of Georgy Alexidze, Parting, a choreographic miniature performed by Yevgenia Obraztsova and Vladimir Shklyarov (MALAKHOV AND FRIENDS). In the 2003-2004 season, Yuri Smekalov worked as Yevgeny Plushchenko's choreographer: short programme to the music Nyah, free programme to Edvin Minton's music Violin Fantasy, to which Plushchenko performed at Campbell's Figure Skating Classics (New York, USA, 2003), MasterCard Skate Canada (Mississauga, Canada, 2003), the Trophйe Lalique (Paris, France, 2003), Cup of Russia Gallina Blanca (Moscow, 2003), the International Figure Skating Challenge (Auburn Hills, USA, 2003), the ISU Grand Prix Final (Colorado Springs, USA, 2003), the Russian Championships (St Petersburg, 2004), the European Championships (Budapest, 2004) and the World Championships (Dortmund, 2004).
In the 2008-2009 season, Yuri Smekalov worked as a choreographer with figure skater Artur Gachinsky (coach – Alexei Mishin) and prepared the programmes Narcissus and The Hermit.
Yuri Smekalov has been a Mariinsky Theatre soloist since February 2009.

Repertoire at the Mariinsky Theatre includes:
Le Corsaire (Birbanto);
The Sleeping Beauty (one of Aurora's Suitors);
Raymonda (Abderchaman);
Romeo and Juliet (Tybald);
The Little humpbacked hourse (Gentleman of the Bedchaber, Horses, Sea horses)