Moscow Ballet's Principal Artists
Great Russian Nutcracker and Romeo & Juliet

Alexandra Elagina


Alexandra Elagina and Anatolie Ustimov

West Coast Principals Acclaimed
By the U.S. Press

Alexandra Elagina makes her debut in the western U.S. and Canada as Masha (aka Clara) in Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker, performing in over 30 cities on the West Tour. She will also debut Moscow Ballet’s role of Juliet in Romeo & Juliet, with partner Anatolie Ustimov. She made her U.S. debut in the 2010 East Tour of the Great Russian Nutcracker to critical acclaim:

“Elagina was…brimful with feeling.” Alastair Macaulay, NY Times

“Alexandra Elagina…exuded the essence of delicacy.”Charleston Today

Alexandra Elagina and Anatolie Ustimov dance the
Nutcracker Pas De Deux in Moscow Ballet's Great
Russian Nutcracker.

Anatolie Ustimov is a Laureate of the 2009 International Ballet Competitions (IBC) Moscow and hails from Chisinau, Moldova. At just 27 years old, Ustimov is the archetypal male Russian dancer. He was praised by the U.S. press for his premiere performance as the Nutcracker Prince in 2010:

“Elagina and Ustimov…partnered beautifully and executed their solos with aristocratic finesse.” Cleveland Plain Dealer

He will premiere as Romeo in Moscow Ballet’s all new Romeo & Juliet in 2011. Ustimov graduated with honors from the State Academic Choreographic School of Moldova in 2001, and has been a principal artist with the State Theater of Opera and Ballet of Moldova since 2000. The company's artistic director says, "In our company we have several promising youngsters like Cristina and Alexei Terentiev, and Anatolie Ustimov." His repertoire includes significant principal roles such as Siegfried in Swan Lake, Romeo in Romeo & Juliet, the Bluebird pas de deux in Sleeping Beauty, Albrecht in Giselle, and more.

Award–winning Principals
Debut on the East Tour

Karyna Shatkovskaya is a multiple award-winning soloist debuting with Moscow Ballet in 2011. In 2009 she was Laureate in the Second International Ballet Competition (IBC) in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, and in 2010 was awarded “State Prize Winner.”

Karyna graduated from the Kharkov State Choreographic School in 2000 and was invited to join the Kharkov Opera and Ballet Theater. In 2004, she graduated from the Kharkov School of Culture and in 2006 graduated from the Kharkov Academy of Culture with a degree in Classical Choreography. Karyna debuted as a soloist in September 2002, dancing the role of Maria in the Odessa National Opera and Ballet’s Nutcracker. Her repertoire includes the lead roles in some of ballet’s most coveted performances: Coppelia, Cinderella, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Don Quixote, and more. She has toured extensively in Europe, Russia, and North and South America. Karyna was Guest Soloist with the Imperial Ballet of Russia, under the direction of Taranda, and with the International Ballet of Russia, under the direction of Surnevoy, before joining Moscow Ballet.

The video to the left shows Karyna performing the Pas De Deux in a production of Swan Lake.

Karyna Shatkovskaya and Vladimir Tkachenko in a lunge pose

Vladimir Tkachenko graduated with honors from the prestigious Perm Choreographic Ballet School, in the class of V. Alikina in 2006. The repertoire of the theatre includes masterpieces of the most distinguished choreographers of the 20th Century, including G. Balachine and J. Robbins. Upon graduation Tkachenko was invited to join the State Kremlin Ballet of Moscow and made his professional debut in La Esmeralda as the Hunchback Quasimodo.

Two years later Vladimir was invited to become soloist in the Kharkov National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet rehearsing under the direction of People's Artist of Ukraine S. Kolyvanova and Honored Artist of the USSR, M. Bezzubikovym. There he dances principal roles in Nutcracker, Coppelia, Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and A Thousand and One Nights. He has been a Guest Soloist of the Imperial Ballet under the direction of Taranda, and of the Russian International Ballet under the direction of Honored Artist of Russia Igor Surnevoy. He has toured to almost all continents of the world including Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America. He makes his debut appearance with Moscow Ballet in 2011 as the Nutcracker Prince in the Great Russian Nutcracker.