Irina Dvorovenko
A
principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre,
Irina Dvorovenko was born in Kiev, Ukraine, and began her ballet training at
the Kiev Ballet School at the age of ten.
She joined the National Opera Ballet
of Kiev in 1990 as a soloist, rising to the rank of principal dancer in 1992.
A dancer of infinite range, her repertoire with the National Opera Ballet
included leading roles in many of the great classics:
Gamzatti in La
Bayadère; Kitri, the Queen of the Driads and Mercedes in Don
Quixote; Giselle and Myrta in Giselle; Princess Aurora and Princess
Florine in The Sleeping Beauty; Odette-Odile in Swan Lake; the
Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker; and the title roles in Cinderella and Paquita.
She also performed pas de deux from Le
Corsaire, Diana and Acteon and La Sylphide, as well as the Tchaikovsky
Pas de Deux.
Ms. Dvorovenko's superlative style and
technique have been recognized in numerous ballet competitions throughout the
world. Her most notable awards include the 1994 Grand Prix at the
International Ballet Competition Serge Lifar in the Ukraine, the 1992 Gold
Medal and "Anna Pavlova" Prize at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow, the 1991 Bronze Medal at the International Ballet Competition in Osaka, Japan, and the 1990 Silver Medal at the International Competition in Jackson, Mississippi.
Joining American Ballet Theatre in
1996, Ms. Dvorovenko was made a soloist in 1997 and was appointed principal
dancer in 2000, following a stunning season which won her
widespread critical and popular acclaim. Anna
Kisselgoff, writing in The New York Times, said
"19th century ballets are built around
ballerinas, and they offered a showcase for Irina Dvorovenko, who had a
breakthrough season, usually in tandem with her husband, Maxim Beloserkovsky."
Her portrayal of Kitri in Don Quixote continued to set the stage
afire: "The last Don Quixote of the season … had Irina Dvorovenko and
(Maxim) Beloserkovsky in a stunning display of integrated artistry and
technique, a truly flawless and exciting performance." (Kisselgoff, The New
York Times.) Ms. Kisselgoff's review of Ms. Dvorovenko's 1999 Don
Quixote hailed it as "a perfect performance, unsurpassed in its attention
to classical form while infused with verve."
Ms. Dvorovenko's Odette-Odile in Ballet
Theatre's new Swan Lake also brought critical acclaim: "Ms.
Dvorovenko's Odette was hypnotic." "To see Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim
Beloserkovsky step into the leading roles of Swan Lake was to see two
outstanding dancers outdo themselves and enhance a 19th century
classic with a splendid and mature performance." "It is up to the principals
to bring depth to the plot through their dancing. This is what Ms. Dvorovenko
and Mr. Beloserkovsky did with unusual technical polish." (The New York
Times.) Equally dazzling in modern works, she was hailed for her debut as
Katherina in John Cranko's The Taming of the Shrew: "Ms. Dvorovenko's
dynamism defined her spirited heroine; every arrow-sharp jeté added to
the brio of her comic acting." (Kisselgoff, The New York Times.)
Jennifer Dunning, reviewing Etudes in The New York Times, noted
that "Ms. Dvorovenko's dancing had a weight that made it regal." And Anna Kisselgoff
called her Siren (in Prodigal Son)
"a masterpiece of detail and
projection."
Her
diverse repertoire with ABT includes her commanding portrayal of both Nikya and
Gamzatti in La Bayadère; Cinderella in Ben Stevenson's
production; Kitri, the Queen of the Driads and Mercedes in Don Quixote;
Princess Aurora, Lilac Fairy and Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty;
Odette-Odile in Swan Lake; Giselle and Myrta in Giselle; Juliet
in Romeo and Juliet; Tatiana in Onegin; the title roles in Raymonda; Swanilde in Coppélia; the Sugar Plum Fairy in The
Nutcracker; Medora in Le Corsaire; the Ballerina in Etudes;
the Empress in Anastasia; Hanna and Valencienne in The Merry Widow; Cupava
in The Snow Maiden; the Operetta Star in Offenbach in the Underworld; the Siren in Prodigal Son; and Les Sylphides, Apollo, Tchaikovsky Pas
de Deux, Sylvia Pas de Deux and Paquita. Ms. Dvorovenko also
excels in contemporary choreography and has danced leading roles in Twyla
Tharp's Push Comes to Shove, Junk pas de deux. The Brahams-Haydn Variations and In
The Upper Room;
Symphony in C (first and second movements); Kylian's Petit Mort; Christian Spuck's Le Grand Pas de Deux; Nacho
Duato's Without Words; Natalie Weir's Hereafter; Brüch Violin
Concerto, "Splendid Isolation" by Jessica Lang, Transcendental Etudes, The Wall, Maguar Suite, Jazzmania, Don't Bring
Lu-Lu, and Pas des
Déesses. She has danced with the Finnish Ballet, the Australian
Ballet, the New York City Opera Ballet, the Rome Opera Ballet, Teatro San Carlo in Napoli, Verona Ballet, the
Universal Ballet, and with the Stars of the Bolshoi Ballet, and has performed
in France, Germany, Spain, Japan, Moscow, Hungary, Finland, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Turkey, Korea, China, Singapore and Taiwan. She has also appeared in
various videos and television specials, including the PBS broadcast of the
opening of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, in which she danced the Act
II Pas de Deux from Swan Lake. She has been featured on the
cover of Dance Magazine, Pointe, Japan Dance Magazine (twice), New
York Dance Fax (three times),
as well as in People,
Russian
Dance Magazine, Dancing Times, Good Housekeeping, Bazaar, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Gotham,
Jane, Elle, Russian Vogue, Town and Country, Time Out and Talk. Ms.
Dvorovenko was the face of Movado Watches for three years.
A virtuoso ballerina, Ms. Dvorovenko
brings a radiant beauty and serene elegance to all of her performances, and as
one of American Ballet Theatre's most lyrical dancers, she is renowned for both
her musicality and dazzling technique. She is married to ABT principal dancer
Maxim Beloserkovsky; together, they are the proud parents of Emma Galine, born
in March, 2005.
