Mariinsky Ballet

Prix Benois de la Danse
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
June 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

As in 2024, the Prix Benois jury nominated thirteen dancers from eight companies for this season’s award. Of the six women and seven men, two dance in China, France, and South Africa; one dances in Kazakhstan; and six, Russia. Next Tuesday, the laureates will be announced at an award ceremony at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow.

Here’s a short overview of the nominees in alphabetical order by company name:
Sundet Sultanov was trained in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and danced with the National Theater of Opera and Ballet named after K. Baiseitova and the State Opera and Ballet Theatre “Astana Opera” before joining the Astana Ballet in 2017 where he is a leading soloist. He was nominated for his performance in December Rain by Kristina Paulin, in-house choreographer of the State Ballet Karlsruhe, Germany. The piece is about the love affair of Frédéric Chopin and George Sand. Sultanov danced the role of Chopin.

Alexei Putintsev graduated from the Moscow Academy of Choreography in 2015 and joined the Bolshoi Ballet the same year. In summer 2023, he was promoted to first soloist and nominated for the Prix Benois for his performance as Philippe in Vasily Vainonen’s The Flames of Paris. This year, his interpretation of Ferdinand in Vyacheslav Samodurov’s The Tempest led to his nomination.

Putintsev’s colleague, Dmitry Smilevsky, joined the Bolshoi Ballet in 2019 and skyrocketed up the ranks. He had just become a leading soloist in 2023 when artistic director Makhar Vaziev promoted him to principal dancer in the same year. Smilevsky is nominated for two roles: Prince Desiré in Yuri Grigorovich’s The Sleeping Beauty and Mercutio in Leonid Lavrovsky’s Romeo and Juliet. I saw neither but remember well Smilevsky’s jaw-dropping performance as Cipollino and his brilliant Taor alongside Elizaveta Kokoreva in La Fille du Pharaon.

Camille Bracher received her training in Johannesburg, South Africa, and joined the Royal Ballet in 2010. In 2015, she was promoted to first artist. Four years later, she joined Company Wayne McGregor. In addition to dancing, she works as a dance coach. Bracher was nominated for her performance in Mthuthuzeli November’s Chapter Two with the Cape Ballet Africa.

Also nominated for his performance in Chapter Two is Joshua Williams from Cape Town. His dance career began by accident when he was scouted as an eight-year-old hopping around at the local post office. Williams trained for four years at the Dance Academy Zurich and, upon returning to South Africa, joined the Mzansi Ballet in 2020. He also appears with Cape Ballet Africa.

Renata Shakirova graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy in 2015 and danced with the Mariinsky Ballet as a student. She joined the company in the same year and was promoted to principal in 2024. Shakirova is nominated for her performance of Swanilda in Alexander Sergeev’s new Coppélia for the Mariinsky Ballet.

Angelina Vorontsova, a principal dancer of the Mikhailovsky Ballet, St. Petersburg, and an Honored Artist of Russia, was trained at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography and the Voronzeh State Choreographic School. From 2009 to 2013, she danced with the Bolshoi Ballet before joining the Mikhailovsky. Vorontsova is nominated for her performance of Esmeralda in Roland Petit’s Notre-Dame de Paris.

His performance in Notre-Dame de Paris also won Vorontsova’s colleague, Nikita Chetverikov, a nomination. Chetverikov trained and danced in Perm before joining the Mikhailovsky Ballet in 2019. In 2024, he was promoted to principal. His role was that of Frollo, the devious archdeacon of Notre-Dame, madly in love with Esmeralda.

Viktoria Dankovtseva, a graduate of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography, is a first soloist of the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre.
Her nomination is attributed to last year’s tour to Moscow where she performed the roles of Odette/Odile (Mikhail Messerer’s version of Swan Lake) on the stage of the Bolshoi.

Valentine Colasante trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School, and in 2006, she joined the Paris Opera Ballet. In 2018, after her performance as Kitri in Don Quixote (Rudolf Nureyev’s version), she was promoted to etoilé. Colasante is nominated for her leading role in Harald Lander’s Études and performance in George Balanchine’s Who Cares?

Marc Moreau’s career resembles that of Colasante. He too graduated from the Paris Opera Ballet School and joined the Paris Opera Ballet in 2004. In 2023, following a performance of Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial, Moreau was promoted to etoilé. The role of De Grieux in Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon led to his nomination for the Prix Benois.

Wenjin Guo graduated from the Shanghai Dance School in 2018 and two years later, joined the Shanghai Ballet where she holds the rank of a principal dancer. She was nominated for her leading role in Ge Wang’s Lily. Husheng Wu, coach, first principal dancer, and the company’s vice director, describes Guo’s performance as follows: “She seamlessly blends ballet vocabulary with dramatic expression, bringing her character to life with charm, romantic longing, poise, and warmth. Her performance feels effortlessly natural, devoid of any artifice, and radiates a genuine power of love to the audience. From the lighthearted joy of the first act to the heart-wrenching farewells of the second, she brilliantly showcases the dramatic tension.”

Jingkun Xu, also a principal of the Shanghai Ballet, is nominated for his performance in Lily as well. He danced the role of Orderly. Xu graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy Associated Dance School in 2017 and studied at the Australian Ballet for roughly one year before joining Shanghai Ballet in 2019. Husheng Wu said about Xu’s performance, “With precise character portrayal, XU Jingkun masterfully captures the emotional nuances—the frustration of facing setbacks, the awkwardness of being teased, and the yearning for dreams. Such depth is a rare challenge for a ballet dancer, yet he delivers it brilliantly. Notably, his witty performance marks a significant artistic breakthrough in comedy. The vivid depiction of the Orderly is pivotal to the entire production.”