In 2006, at the XXII edition of the International Ballet Competition – Varna, Ivan Vasiliev became a star when he was awarded the Special Distinction – Varna in the Boys category.
Ivan Vasiliev was born in Vladivostok, Russia in 1989. He studied at the Dnepropetrovsk Ballet School in Ukraine and later at the Belorussian State Choreographic College in Minsk, graduating in 2006 (class of Alexander Kolyadenko). Vasiliev danced Basilio in Don Quixote and Ali in Le Corsaire with the Belorus National Ballet while still a student at the College. In 2006 he was invited to join Bolshoi Ballet as a Soloist, making his debut with the company, at age 17, as Basilio in Don Quixote. He was promoted to the rank of Principal dancer in May 2010. He is coached by the former Bolshoi star Yuri Vladimirov. Mr. 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 Gardee, Solor and The Golden Idol in La Bayadère, Conrad and Pas des esclaves in Le Corsaire, Philippe in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Flames of Paris, Acteon in Yuri Burlaka’s La Esmeralda, The Young Man in Roland Petit’s Le Jeune Homme et la Mort, soloist in Christopher Wheeldon’s Misericordes and Asaf Messerer’s Class Concert. Mr. Vasiliev has been a guest artist with International Rudolf Nureyev Festival in Kazan, dancing Ali in Le Corsaire in 2006 and Basil in Don Quixote in 2008 and 2009. He has also appeared with the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater as Solor (La Bayadère) and Basil (Don Quixote), and with the Mikhailovsky Ballet in St. Petersburg in the role of Albrecht (Giselle) in 2009. His numerous awards include the Bronze medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition (2004), the Gold medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition (2005), the Gold medal at the Arabesque-96 Ballet Competition in Perm (2006), and the Grand Prix – Varna International Ballet Competition (2006). He is also the winner of the Triumph Youth prize (2006), British Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards in the category ‘Spotlight’ (2008), and the Benois de la Danse prize for his performance in Le Corsaire and The Flames of Paris (2009). Alexei Ratmansky’s The Flames of Paris, starring Mr. Vasiliev, was recently filmed by Bel Air Classiques for future DVD release. The performance was transmitted live into movie theaters across Europe. Principal dancer of the Mikhailovsky Ballet in St. Petersburg – Ivan Vasiliev takes part in the world production of “Kings of the Dance”: