The jury read out the results of the Russian Competition of Ballet Dancers and Choreographers in the nominated category Classical Dance. Among the winners of the competition held between 19 and 26 April, 2025, in Yoshkar-Ola, are Ksenia Krentovskaya and Anastasia Svetlishina, dancers from the ballet company of the Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera House.

Prima ballerina Ksenia Krentovskaya received a special award for Best Performance of Choreography by Michel Fokine, while Anastasia Svetlishina was awarded a diploma in the senior age group. Both dancers were coached and prepared for the competition by the theatre’s rehearsal coach and Honoured Artist of Russia, Vera Surovtseva.

Each competitor submitted five pieces to jury’s approval. Ksenia’s programme included variations of the Sylph (La Sylphide by Løvenskiold), Giselle (Giselle by Adam), Esmeralda and Diana (Esmeralda by Pugni), The Dying Swan from Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals in Michel Fokine’s choreography, and a contemporary piece titled Motion, choreographed by Ilya Karpel to the music by François-Xavier Roth. Anastasia performed variations of Princess Florine and Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty by Tchaikovsky), Gamzatti and Kitri from Minkus’ ballets La Bayadère and Don Quixote, and a contemporary solo No Other Way, choreographed by Olesya Aldonina to the music by Johann Sebastian Bach.

The Competition of Ballet Dancers and Choreographers has been held in Moscow since 1965. It has revealed plenty of outstanding performers and directors. In the current format, the competition has been held since 2013. Its initiator is the legendary Soviet choreographer, People’s Artist of the USSR Yuri Grigorovich. The Competition is held in regions across Russia in various choreographic disciplines on a four-year cycle and is supported by the Government of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, and Roskontsert. Artists from Krasnoyarsk have repeatedly earned accolades in past editions. Notably, in 2020 and 2021, Georgy Bolsunovsky won First Prize.

Ksenia Krentovskaya will next appear on stage at the Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre on May 9, dancing the role of Phrygia in Aram Khachaturian’s Spartacus.