Alexei Ratmansky (St Petersburg, 1968) is not just one of the major modern-day classical ballet choreographers, but also one of the greatest critics of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rehearsed his Giselle with the United Ukrainian Ballet (2022) founded posthaste in The Hague.

He has choreographed ballets for many prestigious ballet companies such as the Mariinsky Theatre, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet de l’Opéra National de Paris, San Francisco Ballet and Dutch National Ballet (including Russian Seasons, On the Dniepr and his much praised version of Don Quichot). He has received numerous awards for his choreographies including two Gold Mask Awards, the Benois de la Danse Award and a British National Dance Award. From 2004 to 2008 Ratmansky was artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet. The company was named ‘Best Foreign Company’ by the London Critics Circle twice during this time. Ratmansky has been a resident choreographer with American Ballet Theatre since January 2009. His adaptation of Marius Petipas’s Swanlake premiered with Ballett Zürich in 2016. February 2017 his The Fairy’s Kiss premiered with Miami City Ballet and in May 2017 Odessa premiered at the New York City Ballet. In June 2017 Holland Festival presented his groundbreaking, intensely personal tribute to Dmitri Shostakovich in his internationally acclaimed Shostakovich Trilogy with the Dutch National Ballet.