BOLSHOI PRINCIPAL TO REPLACE HERMAN CORNEJO
IN THE BRIGHT STREAM, JUNE 11 MATINEE AND JUNE 14
AND AS FRANZ IN COPPÉLIA, THURSDAY, JUNE 16
AT METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE

Ivan Vasiliev

Ivan Vasiliev, a principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet, will appear with American Ballet Theatre as a guest artist for three performances during the 2011 Metropolitan Opera House season. The announcement was made today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. Vasiliev will replace Herman Cornejo, who will withdraw from scheduled performances as Pytor in The Bright Stream at the Saturday, June 11 matinee and on Tuesday evening, June 14 due to injury. Vasiliev will also replace Cornejo in the leading role of Franz in Coppélia on Thursday evening, June 16.

Ivan Vasiliev was born in Vladivostok, Russia and received his early ballet training at the Dnepropetrovsk Ballet School in Ukraine and later at the Belorussian State Choreographic College in Minsk. He joined the Bolshoi Ballet as a Soloist in 2006, making his debut with the company at age 17 as Basilio in Don Quixote . He was promoted to principal dancer with the Bolshoi in 2010. Vasiliev is coached by former Bolshoi star Yuri Vladimirov.

Vasiliev’s repertoire with the Bolshoi includes Basilio in Don Quixote , the title role in Spartacus, the Nutcracker-Prince in The Nutcracker, Colas in Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille Mal Gardée, Solor and The Golden Idol in La Bayadère, Conrad in
Le Corsaire, Philippe in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Flames of Paris, The Young Man in Roland Petit’s Le Jeune Homme et la Mort and featured roles in Christopher Wheeldon’s Misericordes and Asaf Messerer’s Class Concert.

Vasiliev has appeared as a guest artist with the International Rudolf Nureyev Festival in Kazan, the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater and the Mikhailovsky Ballet in St. Petersburg. Since 2009, Vasiliev has been a cast member of Kings of the Dance.

His numerous awards include the Bronze medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition (2004), Grand Prix – Varna International Ballet Competition (2006) and the Benois de la Danse prize for his performance in Le Corsaire and The Flames of Paris (2009).

Vasiliev’s appearance with American Ballet Theatre will be his first with the Company.

For more information, please visit www.abt.org.

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