IRINA KOLESNIKOVA

B.1980 - St.Petersburg
St.Petersburg Ballet Theatre

BIOGRAFIA

Irina Kolesnikova was born in 1980 in St. Petersburg. She studied at the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg from 1990 to 1998. Her principal ballet teachers were Elvira Kokorina, Svetlana Efremova and Lubov Kunakova. In December 1998 Irina became a soloist for the Konstantin Tachkin St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre. She was promoted to principal in 2000 and since 2001 she is the company's Prima Ballerina. She dances all the leading roles including Odette-Odile in Swan Lake, Clara in The Nutcracker, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle and Myrta in Giselle, Kitri in Don Quixote and Nikiya in La Bayadere. She has toured all over the world including Holland, Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Awards:
The Natalia Makarova Prize and the Silver Medal at "Arabesque 2002" in Russia
Silver Medal at Varna in 2002 and the Gold Medal at the International Ballet Competition in Prague 2002
Silver Medal at the 5th Japan International Ballet and Modern Dance Competition, 2005
In 2003, she was nominated for the international prize at Benois de la Danse
In 2005 she has been nominated by Critics` Circle of the UK for the Best Female Dancer in the National Dance Awards