Biography
Vladimir Derevianko studied ballet at the school of Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow.
In 1977 he joined the Company of the Bolshoi, where, thanks to his extraordinary qualities, very soon become principal dancer.
In 1978 he was awarded the Gold Medal and the “Grand Prix” in the International Dance Competition at Varna, Bulgaria. The “Grand Prix” is a special award that only Vassiliev, Baryshnikov and Dupond had ever won before Derevianko
At the Bolshoi Derevianko danced the main parts of the classical repertoire, his interpretation of Mercutio in Yuri Grigorvitch´s “Romeo and Juliet” is still legendary.
In 1983 he moved to West Europe. From that moment he was invited to perform in the most famous companies in the world.
His natural great physical skills, the looseness of his legs, his high and light jumps and his incredible plasticity made him as a great dancer but, the most important thing about Derevianko is his strong personality as an artist.
His capacity to interpret the most opposite figures (from the most dramatic to the most comic roles) inspired many choreographers to create numerous ballets for him.
He enjoyed artistically–enriching and regular collaborations with Yuri Grigorovitch and Vladimir Vassiliev at the Bolshoi and with John Neumeier and Uwe Scholz in the West.
Derevianko has had a long-standing stage partnership with Noella Pontois.
He has also danced with some of the most acclaimed ballerinas of our times like Elisabeth Maurin, Carla Fracci, Evelyn Hart, Alessandra Ferri, Eva Evdokimova, Margaret Illmann and Viviana Durante.
From 1993 to July 2006 Derevianko was Director and principal dancers of the Ballet of the Sachsische Staatsopr Semperoper Dresden, that he has developed in high quality and various repertoire, inviting some of the most important choreographers of our days (Kylian, Tetley, Neumeier, Mats Ek etc.) and also keeping some of the most beautiful choreographies of the classical repertoire.
Under his Direction, the company has been renamed Ballett Dresden.
The Ballett Dresden is today considered one of the major German and European companies and the credit is due to Derevianko’s insight and direction .
During his rich and varied career Derevianko has also been successful as a choreographer
