Leonid Sarafanov

Tutor

Winner of multiple international competitions

Born in Kyiv. Graduated from the Kyiv State Choreographic College in 2000.

From 2000 to 2002, performed as a ballet troupe soloist at the National Opera of Ukraine

From 2002 to 2010, was principal dancer at Mariinsky Ballet

From 2011 to 2021, was principal dancer at Mikhailovsky Ballet

From 2021 to 2023, headed the ballet troupe of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre as art director

From 2023 to present day, working at a tutor at the Leonid Yacobson Ballet Theatre

Has previously performed at La Scala, American Ballet Theatre, Tokyo Ballet, Semperoper, Vienna Opera, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Roma Opera, and Teatro San Carlo in Naples.

Has appeared in:

La Sylphide (James), Giselle (Albert), The Sleeping Beauty (Prince Désiré, Bluebird), Swan Lake (Prince Siegfried), The Nutcracker (Prince), Don Quixote (Basilio), Petrouchka (Petrouchka), Carmen Suite (Escamillo), Le Corsaire (Ali, Isaac Lankendem), La Bayadère (Solor), Romeo and Juliet (Romeo, Mercutio); ballets by George Balanchine: Symphony in C (Part III), Theme and Variations, The Four Temperaments, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Jewels (Rubies), Tarantella; Harald Lander’s Études, William Forsythe’s The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Pierre Lacotte’s Ondine (Matteo), Alexei Ratmansky’s The Little Humpbacked Horse (Ivan the Fool), Frederick Ashton’s La fille mal gardée (Colas), Genrikh Mayorov’s Cipollino (Cipollino), Marius Petipa's La Halte de Cavalerie (Pierre), Asaf Messerer’s Class Concert; ballets by Nacho Duato: Without Words, Invisible, Prelude, Multiplicity. Forms of Silence and Emptiness, White Darkness; and Vasili Vainonen’s Flames of Paris (Philippe, Antoine Mistral).

Competitions and awards:
Golden Mask National Theatre Award for Best Male Role in Ballet (for performing in Quatro, 2011)

Prix Benois de la Danse from the International Choreographers’ Association (2006)

Soul of Dance Award from the Ballet magazine in the Etoile nomination (2006)

Prize at the International Ballet Competition in Seoul (2004)

Gold medal at the IX International Competition of Ballet Dancers and Choreographers in Moscow (2001)

Gold medal at the International Ballet Competition in Paris (2000)

Silver medal at the Rudolf Nureyev Ballet Competition in Budapest (2000)