Maria Kochetkova facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Maria Kochetkova Мария Олеговна Кочеткова
Born	Maria Olegovna Kochetkova (1984-05-07) 7 May 1984 (age 41) Moscow, Soviet Union
Citizenship	Russian / American
Occupation	Ballet dancer
Height	5 ft / 152 cm
Current group	Freelance ballerina
Former groups	The Royal Ballet San Francisco Ballet American Ballet Theatre Finnish National Ballet English National Ballet

Maria Kochetkova, born in 1984, is a famous ballet dancer from Russia. She was a main dancer, called a principal dancer, with the San Francisco Ballet for many years. She also danced as a principal with the American Ballet Theatre. After that, she chose to dance independently, working with different ballet companies around the world. In 2020, she joined the Finnish National Ballet, and later danced with the English National Ballet. Today, she continues to dance on her own and helps organize dance events.

Early Life and Training

Maria Kochetkova was born in Moscow, which is the capital city of Russia. She started her ballet training at a very young age. From 1994 to 2002, she studied at The Bolshoi Ballet Academy. This is a very famous and respected ballet school.

Her Amazing Dance Career

Maria Kochetkova and Herman Cornejo performing in Le Corsaire

After finishing her training, Maria won a big award called the Prix de Lausanne in 2002. This award helped her start her professional career. She first danced with The Royal Ballet in London as an apprentice. Then, she joined the English National Ballet for four years. During this time, she mostly danced in the corps de ballet, which means she was part of the group of dancers. However, she also got to dance a special solo role as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker.

Dancing in San Francisco

In 2007, Maria took some classes with the San Francisco Ballet. The director, Helgi Tomasson, was so impressed that he invited her to join the company as a principal dancer. This is a very high position in a ballet company.

While in San Francisco, she performed many important roles. These included:

• Odette and Odile in Swan Lake
• Swanilda in Coppélia
• Tatiana in Onegin
• The main role in Theme and Variations

She also helped create new roles in ballets like David Dawson's Anima Animus and Christopher Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour. She was also the first dancer to perform the main role in Wheeldon's Cinderella in the United States.

Famous Performances and Media

Maria Kochetkova has appeared in many special performances. In 2008, her performance in the Nutcracker Grand Pas de Deux was shown on TV by PBS. She also won a gold medal in the NBC show Superstars of Dance.

In 2013, she was in a documentary called Ballet's Greatest Hits. She danced a famous part from Don Quixote. She also played the main character, Juliet, in a filmed version of Romeo and Juliet in 2015. Besides ballet, Maria has been in music videos and advertisements. She is also very popular on social media, with many followers around the world.

Dancing in New York

In 2015, Maria joined the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) in New York City. She was still a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet at the same time. This meant she split her time between the two cities. At ABT, she danced leading roles such as:

• The main character in Giselle
• Medora in Le Corsaire
• Nikiya in La Bayadère

She danced with ABT until 2017.

Becoming a Freelance Dancer

In 2018, Maria decided to leave the San Francisco Ballet. She wanted more freedom to choose her projects and to be closer to her mother in Moscow. Since then, she has been a freelance dancer. This means she works independently and performs as a guest artist with different companies.

She has danced with the Norwegian National Ballet and the Dresden Semperoper Ballett. She also returned to the English National Ballet as a guest dancer. In 2019, Maria presented her own show called Maria Kochetkova: Catch Her If You Can in New York. This show featured new dance pieces and other talented dancers. In the 2020-2021 season, she joined the Finnish National Ballet as a lead principal dancer.

Selected Ballets and Roles

Maria Kochetkova has performed in many famous ballets. Here are some of the roles she has danced:

Roles She Helped Create

Maria has also worked with choreographers to create new roles in ballets. This means she was the first dancer to perform these parts. Some of these include:

Personal Life

Maria Kochetkova was married to an entrepreneur named Edward King. She became a mother in 2023.

Awards and Honors

Maria Kochetkova has won many awards for her dancing:

• Prix de Lausanne, 2002 - Silver medal
• Varna International Ballet Competition, 2002 - Silver medal and a special jury prize
• Isadora Duncan Dance Award, 2008
• Superstars of Dance, 2009 - Gold medal
• Prix Benois de la Danse, 2013 - Nominated for this award
• Critics’ Circle National Dance Award (U.K.) for Best Female Dancer, 2014 - Nominated
• Premio Positano, 2017 - Named Ballerina of the Year

See Also

• List of dancers
• List of Russian ballet dancers