Moscow Ballet's Soloist Artists
Great Russian Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet

Sergey Chumakov and Elena Petrachenko
perform the Arabian Variation in
Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker.

Sergey Chumakov and
Elena Petrachenko
Arabian Variation
Great Russian Nutcracker

Soloists Sergey Chumakov and Elena Petrachenko dance the Arabian variation in the renowned Great Russian Nutcracker performance. Acclaimed by the press—"Sergey Chumakov…when partnering Elena Petrachenko…confers an unusual thrill upon the work’s many lifts," Alastair Macaulay, NY Times—Chumakov and Petrachenko first danced with Moscow Ballet in 1994 when the company and the Moscow State Academic Children’s Music Theater, named after Natalia Sats (the world's first professional theater for children and perhaps best known internationally as the birthplace of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf), toured the Great Russian Nutcracker with a troupe of 100. The pair is best known for their almost acrobatic moves which combine the line and beauty of ballet with the showmanship of the circus.

"[Moscow Ballet’s] Arabian pair…were particularly astounding." Charles Downey, iionarts.com-DC

"The most breathtaking by far is the Arabian sequence…as if Cirque du Soleil performers had crept into the timeless ballet." Cheryl Callon, TheatreJones.com, Dallas

Since 2001, Chumakov and Petrachenko have been principal dancers with the Crown of Russia Ballet, performing leading roles in Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, Pachita, The Nutcracker, and more. They are principal dancers with the Magdeburg Opera and Ballet Theatre in Germany, dancing classical and modern repertoire, and with the Russian Theatre in Berlin. The pair’s earliest work was with the Moscow State Ballet Company at Bolshoi Theatre; as principal dancers with the Classic and Modern Choreography Theatre in Moscow; with Russian Classical Ballet Theatre; the Classical and Modern Choreography Theatre; and the Russian Ballet of the 21st Century. Chumakov and Petrachenko are both graduates of the State Academic Choreography Institute in Perm, Russia, majoring in the Classical Choreography section. They have traveled and worked in countries including the U.S., Canada, Spain, England, Norway, Germany, Argentina, Ireland, Qatar, Malta, Israel, Mexico, and Jordan.

**The video to the left shows Sergey Chumakov and Elena Petrachenko performing the Arabian Variation in Moscow Ballet's production of Great Russian Nutcracker.

Svetlana Todinova as Little Red Riding Hood
in Moscow Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty.

Svetlana Todinova
Great Russian Nutcracker
Romeo & Juliet

Svetlana Todinova has danced with Moscow Ballet since 2001 and also serves as the company's Audition Director, in which she visits nearly 20 American cities annually between the months of September and November, auditioning and training hundreds of young, aspiring dancers to perform in Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker. New in 2011, Svetlana has led Moscow Ballet’s Classic Repertory for Children program—week-long sessions that allow children to learn the choreography of the great story ballets. Following this, Svetlana joins her colleagues for the 60-city North American tour of Romeo and Juliet and the Great Russian Nutcracker.

Todinova was born in Yadrun, Russia, just outside of Moscow, and in 1997 completed formal training at the Ufimsky Choreography School, now named the Rudolph Nureyev Russian State Ballet Academy (in honor of the legendary dancer who was also a graduate). Upon graduation, Todinova was invited to join the Krasnodarsky Musical Theater troupe of the Bashkiria Theater and there danced for Yuri Grigorovich, who is famous for his virtuosic productions at the Bolshoi Theater. In 1999, she joined Russia's renowned National Academy of Theatrical Arts (GITIS) in Moscow, founded in 1878 by theater pioneer and founder of the Stanislavsky acting method K. Stanislavsky, with which she toured internationally. Todinova was invited to join the Crown of Russia Ballet Company as a soloist in 2006, again touring internationally. Her repertory includes Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, La Bayadere, Carmen, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and more.

**The video to the left shows Svetlana performing as Little Red Riding Hood in Moscow Ballet's production of Sleeping Beauty.