Daniil Simkin
Encyclopedia
Daniil Simkin is a Russian ballet dancer. His parents Dmitrij Simkin and Olga Aleksandrova are also ballet dancers. The family left the Soviet Union in 1990. His parents were engaged to dance in Graz
, then took engagements in various cities in Germany before settling in Wiesbaden
in 1993, where he spent the rest of his childhood.
Unlike most professional ballet dancers Simkin did not attend a vocational ballet school. He was coached privately by his mother, who became a ballet teacher after retiring from dancing in 1999, while attending regular German high school. He also danced duets with his father, and gained stage experience by appearing in ballet productions in Wiesbaden as a child. As a teenager he won first prize in several of the world's leading ballet competitions.
Simkin's first professional position was with the Vienna State Opera Ballet
, where he was a demi-soloist from 2006 to 2008. During this time he made his debut in a principal role as a guest with the Lithuanian National Ballet. In 2008 he became a soloist at the American Ballet Theatre
in New York
. He is a regular on the international ballet gala circuit, and presented his own gala in Athens in 2009 in collaboration with his father, who now works as a choreographer and stage designer.
Simkin is often spoken of as one of the most significant male talents to emerge in ballet in recent years. He is relatively small and lightly built, and of a youthful demeanour, but he is noted for his exceptional jumps, the speed and precision of his pirouettes, and his instinctive communication with the audience.
Simkin has been noted as one of the first ballet dancers to be active in Web 2.0
media such as YouTube
and twitter
, and has spoken in interviews about the need for ballet to open up, demystify itself and modernize the way it connects with audiences.
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
, then took engagements in various cities in Germany before settling in Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
in 1993, where he spent the rest of his childhood.
Unlike most professional ballet dancers Simkin did not attend a vocational ballet school. He was coached privately by his mother, who became a ballet teacher after retiring from dancing in 1999, while attending regular German high school. He also danced duets with his father, and gained stage experience by appearing in ballet productions in Wiesbaden as a child. As a teenager he won first prize in several of the world's leading ballet competitions.
Simkin's first professional position was with the Vienna State Opera Ballet
Vienna State Opera Ballet
The Vienna State Opera Ballet, like the opera company, is based at the Vienna State Opera House in Vienna, Austria. The original building was destroyed by Allied bombing in 1945....
, where he was a demi-soloist from 2006 to 2008. During this time he made his debut in a principal role as a guest with the Lithuanian National Ballet. In 2008 he became a soloist at the American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He is a regular on the international ballet gala circuit, and presented his own gala in Athens in 2009 in collaboration with his father, who now works as a choreographer and stage designer.
Simkin is often spoken of as one of the most significant male talents to emerge in ballet in recent years. He is relatively small and lightly built, and of a youthful demeanour, but he is noted for his exceptional jumps, the speed and precision of his pirouettes, and his instinctive communication with the audience.
Simkin has been noted as one of the first ballet dancers to be active in Web 2.0
Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
media such as YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, and has spoken in interviews about the need for ballet to open up, demystify itself and modernize the way it connects with audiences.