Russian choreographer awarded MacArthur “genius” grant

Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky is to receive a prestigious grant given by the John and Catherine MacArthur Foundation for creative individuals who have “exceptional results and have potential for long and productive creative work”.

The so-called “genius grant” is worth a total of $625,000 per recipient, spread over five years. It has been awarded annually to 20-40 citizens or residents of the USA since 1981, including some of the most notable scientists and creative people of their generation. Previous Russian recipients have included poet Joseph Brodsky and physicist Alexei Kitaev.

Ratmansky, who was director of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow from 2004 until 2008, was invited by the American Ballet Theatre in 2009 to choreograph a number of ballets including the Shostakovich Trilogy, Seven Sonatas, Firebird and The Bright Stream.

2013 has been a busy year for Alexei Ratmansky, who has been collaborating with major theatres worldwide such as the New York City Ballet, the Dutch National Ballet and the Mariinsky Theatre. The next season will see the debut of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, choreographed by Ratmansky to music by Sibelius.