July 9, 2002
VERONIKA PART TO JOIN AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE AS A SOLOIST
Veronika Part, a soloist with the Kirov Ballet, will join American Ballet Theatre as a Soloist effective August 1, 2002, it was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. Part will make her debut with ABT during the Company’s tour of Japan, September 12-22.
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Part began her early training in rhythmic gymnastics before entering the Vaganova Ballet Academy in 1988. She joined the Kirov Ballet in 1996 and was promoted to soloist in 1998. Part’s repertoire with the Kirov Ballet includes Nikiya in La Bayadère, Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote, Myrta, Moyna and Zulma in Giselle, Raymonda and Henrietta in Raymonda, Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty and Odette-Odile in Swan Lake. She has also danced roles in George Balanchine’s Apollo (Terpsichore), Jewels (Emeralds and Diamonds), Symphony in C (second movement) and Serenade, and in John Neumeier’s The Sounds of Empty Pages.
Part was the winner of the BALTIKA Prize in 1999.