Alexei Ratmansky

The American-Ukrainian-Russian choreographer Alexei Ratmansky (St. Petersburg, 1968) trained at the Bolshoi Ballet School in Moscow and subsequently danced with the National Ballet of Ukraine, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet. His work is performed by nearly all major ballet companies worldwide, including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Ballet de l’Opéra national de Paris, The Royal Ballet, the Royal Ballet of Danmark, the Royal Ballet of Sweden, and Dutch National Ballet. He has also choreographed for star dancers such as Nina Ananiashvili, Wendy Whelan, Diana Vishneva, and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

From 2004 to 2008, Alexei Ratmansky was the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, which under his leadership was twice named "Best Foreign Company" by the London Critics’ Circle. He created full-length ballets for the Bolshoi such as The Bright Stream, The Bolt, Anna Karenina, and Lost Illusions. He also produced versions of Le Corsaire and The Flames of Paris, combining reconstruction and new choreography. From 2009 to early 2023, Ratmansky was artist-in-residence at American Ballet Theatre. Since August 2023, he has held the same position at New York City Ballet. In 2024, Ratmansky was appointed Associate Artist with Dutch National Ballet.

Ratmansky is a specialist in revising and reviving 19th- and early 20th-century ballet repertoire. He has created his own versions of Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, La Bayadère, Paquita, and in 2010, he created a new, widely acclaimed production of Don Quixote for Dutch National Ballet. He has also created numerous original works, several of which are now part of the Dutch National Ballet’s repertoire: Russian Seasons, On the Dnieper, Firebird, Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Shostakovich Trilogy, Serenade After Plato’s Symposium and The Fairy’s Kiss.

For his ballets, Ratmansky has received many awards, including four Russian Golden Mask Awards, the prestigious Benois de la Danse for his Anna Karenina (2005) and his Shostakovich Trilogy and The Tempest (2014), a Bessie Award, and the British National Dance Award. In 2013, he was named MacArthur Fellow of the Year for his exceptional achievements.

Season 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 

A new work by Alexei Ratmansky, Trio Kagel, performed by Dutch National Ballet in the programme Other Dances, is presented in June 2025. 

The Masters of Movement  programme, performed by Dutch National Ballet, will be featuring a European premiere by Alexei Ratmansky in June 2026 at Dutch National Opera & Ballet.

Last update: 16-06-2025