Irina Dvorovenko

American Ballet Theatre Prima Ballerina and “Flesh and Bone” Star Gives Rare Master Class In Charleston.

A former principal dancer of 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. 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; the Lilac Fairy and Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty; Odette-Odile in Swan Lake; Giselle and Myrta in Giselle; Juliet in Romeo and Juliet; Marguerite in “Cady of the Camellias”,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, 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, 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, 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.

In the spring of 2013, Ms. Dvorovenko retired from the ABT stage and simultaneously made her stunning musical theatre debut as Vera Baronova in the New York City Center Encores! production of Rodgers & Hart’s “On Your Toes,” garnering outstanding reviews. Since 2005 Ms.Dvorovenko and her husband launched a very successful line of ballet wear “Irina&Max” by Bloch.

Following this triumph, Ms. Dvorovenko was invited to join the leading cast of the Starz network new original television drama “Flesh and Bone”, which aired in November 2015. She also made gust appearances on ” Forever” (ABC, 2015) and “The Blacklist” (NBC, 2016). She appeared in 4 episodes of the Starz series “Power” during 2016-2017 season, and in 9 episodes of the FX series “The Americans” during the 2017 season. In the Spring of 2018 she is starring in both the New York City Center Encores! production of “Grand Hotel” as fading prima ballerina Elizaveta Grushinskaya, and as the lead May Bartram in the Vineyard Theatre production of Susan Stroman’s “The Beast in the Jungle”.

A virtuoso ballerina, Ms. Dvorovenko brings a radiant beauty and serene elegance to all of her performances, she is renowned for both her musicality and dazzling technique. She is married to ABT former principal dancer Maxim Beloserkovsky; together, they are the proud parents of Emma Galina, born in March, 2005.