Viktor Plotnikov

A native of Ukraine, Viktor Plotnikov received his training at the Vaganova Institute in St. Petersburg. He achieved fame in the ballet world at the Boston Ballet, where he performed as a first soloist for ten years. But before joining the Boston company, he worked in Donetsk, Mississippi and Tulsa. He is also a sought-after guest, and has danced as a character first soloist with many ensembles. In 1999, he expanded the scope of his career to include choreography. He rapidly gained recognition in this field, and the Boston Ballet went on a summer tour with one of his pieces. Since then, the Festival Ballet Rhode Island has performed his works nearly every year and he has been choreographing for Boston Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet Moscow and others. Together with Gino di Marco, he initiated the Raw Dance project, which was elected one of the top ten live performances of 2002 by the Boston Globe newspaper. He has concentrated increasingly on choreography, with considerable success. In 2004, works by Viktor Plotnikov earned recognition as the finest pieces of choreography presented at the international ballet competition in Helsinki and in 2005 at the American Youth Grand Prix.