Nina Ananiashvili
Prima Ballerina, Director of State Ballet of Georgia
Nina Ananiashvili was born in Tbilisi, Georgia. By the time she was ten, she was Georgia's junior skating champion. Encouraged by her teachers, she soon abandoned skating for ballet studies at Tbilisi State Choreographic School, in the class of Tamara Vikhodtseva. In 1977, Nina's impressive progress was noted by dance authorities, who persuaded her parents to allow their daughter to continue her training in Moscow. Thus, when she was thirteen, she entered the Moscow Choreographic School, the school of the Bolshoi Ballet under tutorship of prominent pedagogue Natalia Viktorovna Zolotova.
She joined the Bolshoi Ballet upon graduation in 1981. The first season with the Bolshoi Theatre turned out triumphant for Nina. Under guidance of outstanding ballerina Raissa Stepanovna Struchkova, she danced her first major role, Odette-Odile in Swan Lake, while on tour with the Bolshoi in Germany in 1982 to outstanding public and critical acclaim.
Nina was awarded with Principal dancer status and given the leading roles from such classical ballet heritage as Swan Lake, Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet (Leonid Lavrovsky and Yuri Grigorovich versions), Raymonda, Le Corsaire, The Nutcracker, La Bayadère, The Golden Age, La Sylphide, Chopiniana, G. Balanchine’s Mozartiana and Symphony in C; P. Lacotte's The Pharaoh's Daughter; A. Ratmansky’s Leah and Dreams About Japan among others.
Nina Ananiashvili is the only ballerina honored with the four most prestigious international ballet awards:
Varna (Bulgaria) X International Competition Gold Medal (1980)
Moscow IV International Competition Grand Prix (1981)
Moscow V International Competition Gold Medal (1985)
Jackson (US) III International Competition Grand Prix (1986)
In 1988, Nina and her dance partner Andris Liepa became the first dancers from the former Soviet Union to be invited to New York City Ballet, where they performed leading parts in Balanchine’s ballets Raymonda, Apollo and Symphony in C.
Nina went on to become a truly international ballet superstar. While retaining her status as prima ballerina of the Bolshoi she became a Principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. She also appeared with, amongst others, the Royal Danish Ballet, the Kirov Ballet, the U.K.'s Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, Royal Swedish Ballet, Ballet de Monte Carlo, the National Ballets of Norway, Finland and Portugal, Birmingham Ballet, Boston Ballet, Munich Ballet, Houston Ballet and Tokyo Ballet. She also toured with her own company, "Nina Ananiashvili and International Stars". Her most frequent partner at the Bolshoi and on tour was Alexey Fadeechev.
In 1987-2004 Nina Ananiashvili was the principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre. She performed leading parts in Swan Lake, La Bayadère, Le Corsaire, Don Quixote, Giselle, La Fille Mal Gardée, Raymonda, The Merry Widow; G. Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial, Mozartiana, Symphony in C, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux; F. Ashton’s La Fille Mal Gardée; B. Stevenson’s The Snow Maiden, Esmeralda; K. MacMillan’s The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Manon; M. Morris’ Gong; A. Tudor’s Offenbach in the Underworld etc.
In 1989 –1994 Nina Ananiashvili was the guest artist of The Royal Danish Ballet. She performed principal roles in A. Bournonville’s La Sylphide, Napoli, The Kermesse in Bruges and Flower Festival in Genzano; M. Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty and Don Quixote; A. Ratmansky’s Anna Karenina; she also performed at the 1992 and 1996 Bournonville festivals.
In 1990 - 1993 she was also the guest artist of The Royal Ballet in England (Covent Garden), dancing leading roles in K. MacMillan’s The Prince of the Pagodas and Romeo and Juliet; F. Ashton’s La Fille Mal Gardée and Cinderella; P. Wright’s The Nutcracker; M. Fokine’s Firebird; G. Balanchine’s Symphony in C among other classics.
1982 – 2017 Nina was a frequent guest artist with Mariinsky Ballet, La Scala Ballet, Rome Opera Ballet, The National Ballet of Portugal, Munich Ballet, Houston Ballet, Göteborg Ballet, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Boston Ballet, Tokyo Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, The National Ballet of Ukraine, The National Ballet of Belarus among others.
From September 2004, Nina Ananiashvili was a director at Z. Paliashvili Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre. In the period under the guidance of Nina Ananiashvili, the Company’s premieres have included new editions of classical works, as well as ballets by George Balanchine, August Bournonville, Michael Fokine, Frederick Ashton, and Jiří Kylián. Modern choreographers - Alexei Ratmansky, Yuri Possokhov, Jorma Elo, Trey McIntyre, Medhi Walerski and Stanton Welch have staged their ballets for the Company that had successful tours in the United States (2007, 2008, 2010), Japan (2007, 2010, 2012, 2017), Israel, Egypt, Spain, Estonia, Taiwan, Ecuador, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine, Belarus, Italy among other countries. The Company also made several appearances at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Spoleto Festival and The Edinburgh International Festival (2008) - an appearance marked by the “Edinburgh Herald” Angels Award.
Ms. Ananiashvili enriched the repertory of The SBG with Don Quixote, Giselle, Swan Lake, Raymonda, The Sleeping Beauty of M. Petipa; Conservatory, From Siberia to Moscow, Flower Festival in Genzano by A. Bournonville; M. Fokine’s Chopiniana and Firebird; F. Ashton’s La Fille Mal Gardée, Marguerite and Armand, Two Pigeons, Birthday Offering, Thaïs Pas de Deux, La Chatte etc.; G. Balanchine’s Symphony in C, Sérénade, Bugaku, Apollo, Chaconne, Mozartiana, Western Symphony, Concerto Barocco etc.; J. Kylián’s Steeping Stones, Petite Mort, Falling Angels, Sarabande, SechsTänzen; L. Lavrovsky’s Romeo and Juliet; Jorma Elo’s 1st Flash; A. Ratmansky’s Leah, Bizet Variations, Charms of Mannerism, Dreams About Japan; Y. Possokhov’s Medea, Sagalobeli, Reflections; T. McIntyre’s Second Before the Ground and Midsummer Night’s Dream; S. Welch’s Green; M. Walerski’s Petite Cérémonie and Orawa etc.
Nina Ananiashvili is the Founder and the Artistic Director of the annual Tbilisi Ballet Festival (established in 2017).
In 2008, the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre’s ballet company was awarded with the prestigious Herald Angels award at the Edinburgh International Festival.
2012 marked the 30th anniversary of Nina Ananiashvili’s career, and this milestone was celebrated with the participation of world ballet stars.
From 2004 – Present Nina Ananiashvili is the artistic director of the Vakhtang Chabukiani Ballet Art State School, the only professional institution in Georgia educating and graduating ballet dancers. Curriculum of the School includes classical dance, pas de deux, historic and character dance, modern dance, Georgian folk dances and acting Students traditionally take part in performances of The State Ballet of Georgia (Swan Lake, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, Conservatory, from Siberia to Moscow etc.)
Nina Ananiashvili has been invited as jury member and staging choreographer to various theatres around the world. Together with Alexey Fadeechev, she staged several ballet performances at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre, among others L. Minkus' Don Quixote (2005), A. Adam’s Giselle (2006), F. Chopin’s Chopiniana (2011), A. Glazunov’s Raymonda (the third act) (2012), Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake (2004), The Sleeping Beauty (2018) and The Nutcracker (2019); Meri Davitashvili’s Tsuna and Tsrutsuna (2016).
Nina Ananiashvili staged new choreographic versions of two ballets choreographed by Vakhtang Chabukiani: David Toradze’s Gorda (2016) and Alexander Krein’s Laurencia (2017) at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre.
Nina Ananiashvili also staged outside Georgia Nutcracker Suite (2012), Les Sylphides (2011) and La Bayadère III Act (2016) at the Beijing Dance Academy, and at the Lisbon Ballet School L. Minkus’s Don Quixote Suite. In 2014, she staged Vakhtang Chabukiani’s Laurencia at Minsk Bolshoi Theatre. In 2014, she staged Don Quixote of M. Petipa - A. Gorsky for Hong Kong Ballet. In 2018, she staged Pas d’action from the ballet Laurencia for The University of Music and Performing Arts Munich.
Nina Ananiashvili is honoured with the title of People's Artist of Georgia (1989) and Russia (1995), Rustaveli State Prize (1993), The Presidential Order of Excellence (2010). She was awarded with the State Prize of the Russian Federation, For the Merit to the Fatherland (2001). Nina Ananiashvili is the first ballerina holding Russian national prize “Triumph” for achievement in art (1992). The American Biographical Institute granted her the title of Woman of the Year (1997). She was awarded with the International Prize Golden Goddess (1999) established by successor of Royal family of France, Princess Marie de Bourbon. She is named as Dance Magazine Prize winner (2002). Nina was elected as United Nations Goodwill Ambassador in Georgia (2007) for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. President of Italy awarded her with Italian Solidarity Medal of Honour (2011). In 2017, Nina Ananiashvili received the prestigious award “Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon”, of Japan (the highest order of Japan for foreigners, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji). On 19 April 2019 Prima Ballerina was named as the Honorary President of the “Europe Nostra Georgia” which is a Pan-European network for protecting cultural and national heritage. In 2019 The Beijing Dance (BDA) awarded Prima Ballerina Nina Ananiashvili the title of Professor of the Academy.