diana Vishneva press package / 1

diana Vishneva press package / 1

Biography Described as the most accomplished, the most complete, ballerina in the world today, Diana Vishneva has been thrilling audiences around the world with performances that have been called dazzling, hair-raising, exhilarating, charged with erotic excitement, and so moving that they leave people sitting dazed in their seats afterwards. More than once she has been credited with the ability to stop time through her subtle movements, her technical brilliance, her dramatic intelligence, and her ability to hold a pause. With a repertoire that includes both classic and modern choreographies, Diana Vishneva s versatility is huge, and her strength, speed, and precision have enabled her to perform works beyond the reach of most Russian-trained dancers. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1976, Diana began her dance training at the age of six, and in 1987 was admitted to the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. While still a student, she won her first of many prestigious prizes : the Gold Medal at the Prix de Lausanne completion an honor that no dancer has received since. Upon graduation in 1995, she joined the Mariinsky Theater (Kirov Ballet) of St. Petersburg, and in 1996 became a principal dancer, receiving the Benois de la danse prize that same year. She soon took part in a program of dancer exchanges with foreign companies, performing at La Scala in Milan and with Vladimir Malakhov s Berlin State Ballet. It was a 2003 dancer exchange that sent Diana to the American Ballet Theater in New York for the first time, where she has been a principal dancer since 2005. Her already substantial and growing repertoire, and the ongoing invitations to perform internationally with different companies have confirmed her as one of the most accomplished classical ballerinas of her generation. In her ever-expanding role as international ambassador for the dance world, Diana Vishneva is also the founder of the Cultural Fund of Diana Vishneva, a non-profit organization that will operate in Russia, the United States, and Japan. Its primary goals are to supply opportunities for underprivileged children to study ballet, and for those already studying to attend performances; to provide financial assistance to both injured ballet dancers as well as retired performers; and to encourage and support new choreographers, ballet programs, and international co-productions. On a recent visit to the Duke Ellington School of the arts in Washington, D.C., Diana was recognized by First Lady Michelle Obama, who called her an inspiration and thanked her for her outstanding work in exposing so many young people to the arts. biography Vishneva is probably the most accomplished, the most complete, ballerina in the world today. Robert Gelb, The New York Observer, February 2007 2 \ / 3

Biography Birthdate: July 13, 1976 Birthplace: St. Petersburg, Russia Citizenship: Russia Residence: St. Petersburg, Russia Languages: Russian, English, French Website: www.vishneva.ru www.facebook.com/pages/diana-vishneva Education Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet (St. Petersburg, Russia) Entered Academy in 1987 at age 10. First instructor was Lyudmila V. Belskaya. Later studied under Professor Lyudmila V. Kovaleva. In final exam, made the highest score in the history of Vaganova Academy. Graduated in 1995. If I could, I would travel the world just to see Diana Vishneva dance... whenever she is on stage, I hear the siren calling come watch me dance; come dance with me; the best is yet to be. Jerry Hochman, Ballet-Dance Magazine, August 2009 Currently studying in the Master s Degree Program of Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. education Diana Vishneva is also a mesmerizing beauty from the illustrious Kirov Ballet, a master of channeling feeling through a classical vessel s restraint, and so peripatetic a performer that her repertory has become her only real home. Apollinaire Scherr, Double Exposure, Diana Vishneva Plays Both Sides, New York Magazine February 10, 2008. 4 \ / 5

choreographers Diana has worked and performed with the following choreographers Bejart Neumeier Forsythe Grigorovich Petit Makarova Preljocaj Vinogradov MacKenzie Ratmasky Lightfoot Lock Bigonzetti Zuska 6 \ / 7

Major Performance Venues Mariinsky Theater_St. Petersburg, Russia The Metropolitan Opera House_New York, U.S.A. Berlin Staatsoper_Berlin, Germany Bolshoi Theater_Moscow, Russia Grand d Opera_Paris, France Teatro La Scala_Milan, Italy The Royal Opera House_London, England Kennedy Center_Washington-DC, U.S.A. Segerstrom Center for the Arts_Costa Mes, CA, U.S.A. Kodak Theater_Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A. Bunka Kaikan Theater_Tokyo, Japan The National Theater of Korea_Seoul, Korea Het Muziektheater_Amsterdam, The Netherlands Place des Arts_Montreal, Canada Canada s National Arts Centre_Ottawa, Canada It s hard to think of a more sheerly beautiful ballerina in the world today: the proportions of her body are delectably harmonious... Alastair Macaulay, The New York Times, February, 2008 major performance venues 8 \ / 9

REPERTOIRE Nutcracker (Masha) in versions of V.Vainonen, K.Simonov/ M.Shemyakin Don Quixote (Kitri) in versions of M.Petipa/ A.Gorsky, Y.Grigorovich, R.Nureyev, K.McKenzie Sleeping Beauty (Aurora) in versions of M.Petipa/ K.Sergeyev, S.Vikharev, R.Nureyev, Y.Grigorovich, V.Malakhov, K.McKenzie/G.Kirkland Romeo & Juliette (Juliette) in versions of M.Lavrovsky, K.McMillan Giselle (Giselle) versions of J.Coralli, J.Perrot/ M.Petipa, P.Bart, K.McKenzie The Ring (Frikke, Brungilda), Bahti by Morice Bejart In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, Steptext by William Forsythe On the Dnieper (Olga), Anna Karenina (Anna) by Alexei Ratmansky Diana Vishneva: Beauty in Motion by A.Ratmansky, M.Pendleton, D.Roden New Work by Edouard Lock LE PARC by Angelin Preljocaj La Bayadere (Nikiya) in versions of M.Petipa/ V.Ponomaryev, V.Chabukiani, S.Vikharev, V.Malakhov, N.Makarova Swan Lake (Odette-Odille) in versions of M.Petipa/K.Sergeyev, L.Ivanov, P.Bart, R.Nureyev, Y.Grigorovich, K.McKenzie Le Corsaire (Medora), Raymonda (Raymonda) in version of M.Petipa/K.Sergeyev Spectre de la Rose Scheherazade (Zobeide) - The Firebird - Dying Swan by Mikhail Fokine Legend of Love (Mahmene Banu) by Yuri Grigorovich Manon (Manon) by Kenneth McMillan Symphony In C Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux - Apollo - Jewels-Rubies -Diamonds -Ballet Imperial by George Balanchine In the Night by Jerome Robbins Cinderella (Cinderella) in versions of O.Vinogradov, A.Ratmansky Carmen (Carmen) in versions of R.Petit, A.Alonso repertoire Dream (Titania), Sylvia (Sylvia), Thais Pas de Deux by Federick Ashton Silenzio by A.Moguchiy, A.Kononov Le Peri (Peri) by Vladimir Malakhov Le Jeune Homme et la Mort by Rolan Petit The Sounds of Empty Pages, Spring and Fall, Now and Then, Lady of the Camellias (Marguerite) by John Neumeier /10\ / 11

Diana Vishneva is a wondrous creature whose captivating beauty never feels frozen in a static, flawless state, but is ever changing - full of heat or ice, and packaged in a body that the choreographer Moses Pendleton notes, moves like liquid milk. Robert Gelb, The New York Observer, February 2007 12 \ / 13

Vishneva is unusually devoted to the expressive powers of dancing, and through her clear and unaffected performance, the story of trampled innocence and unearned forgiveness was as profoundly moving as I ve ever seen it. Sarah Kaufman, Washington Post, February 2011 14 \ / 15

Since the first days of glasnost, other Russian ballerinas notably Altynai Asylmuratova of the Kirov and Nina Ananiashvili of the Bolshoi have managed to commute between East and West and between old and new, but none have been able to have their cake and eat it too as much as Ms. Vishneva. Richard Termine, The New York Times, February 2011 16 \ / 17

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film productions 20 \ / 21

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diamonds 24 \ DIAMONDS VENICE FILM FESTIVAL Diamonds, a black-and-white silent masterpiece starring the leading light of the Mariinsky Ballet, Diana Vishneva, has had its premiere at the oldest film festival in the world, Venice. The star of Sleeping Beauty, Giselle and Swan Lake, just to name a few, the Mariinsky s darling has in fact revealed that, apart from being a novice in film, she also had to try another completely new role in Diamonds that of a chorus girl, which she said felt quite unusual for the acclaimed lead dancer. / 25

Major Prizes 1994 Gold Medal and Grand Prix of The International Ballet Competition in Lausanne 1995 La Divina Prize 1996 Benois de la danse Prize for role of Kitri in Don Quixote 1996 Golden Sofit Prize for solo role in The Symphony in C 1998 Baltika prize for Best Duet (with F. Ruzimatov) 2000 The State Prize of the Russian Federation (for the title roles in the Mariinsky Theater performances of The Sleeping Beauty, Manon, Le jeune homme et la mort, and Sheherazade 2001 Golden Mask prize for the title role in Balanchine s Rubies 2002 Best Dancer of Europe by Dance Europe magazine 2003 Spirit of Dance in Queen of Dance category by Ballet magazine 2007 People s Artist of Russia 2009 Three Golden Mask prizes in categories Best Female Role; Modern Dance/Female Role; and Critics Prize for Diana Vishneva: Beauty in Motion 2010 Ballerina of the Decade by Stars of the 21st Century 2011 Audience Prize from the Theatre-Foer society major prizes Diana Vishneva... has done just some outstanding work to expose so many other young people to the arts... First Lady Obama at Duke Ellington School for the Arts, June 2010 26 \ / 27

fashion shoots 28 \ / 29

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contact Diana Vishneva DIANA VISHNEVA PRIMA BALLERINA OF MARIINSKY THEATER/KIROV BALLET PRINCIPAL DANCER OF THE AMERICAN BALLET THEATER RUSSIA contact_ Mail Diana Vishneva P.O. Box 155 St.Petersburg, Russia 190068 T. +7-905-214-4927 E-Mail ks@avanstage.com USA contact_ Mail Diana Vishneva c/o Avanstage LLC 130 West 56th Street, Floor 5M New York, NY 10019 USA T. +1-202-390-0808 E-Mail ks@avanstage.com