Born in Russia, Maria trained at the Bolshoi school in Moscow and danced at the Royal Ballet and the English National Ballet before joining the San Francisco Ballet as principal dancer in 2007. She is one of the most talented dancers of her generation, invited to dance at the Bolshoi, the Stanislavsky, the Mariinsky, the Mikhailovsky, the American Ballet Theater, the Rome Opera, la Scala in Milan, the Tokyo Ballet and at the National Dance Company in Madrid. Since 2015, she has split her time between the San Francisco Ballet and the American Ballet Theater, becoming one of those rare principals who can enjoy the luxury of belonging to two companies at the same time. Maria has danced in all the principal roles in the great classical ballets, while eagerly awaiting creations from modern and contemporary choreographers, who are always delighted to be able to express their art through such an exceptional dancer. She has taken part in numerous international gala events, including “Roberto Bolle & Friends”, the Ballet Stars of the 21st Century concert in Paris or “Ballet Now” at the Music Center in Los Angeles.
Passionate about art and fashion, Maria appeared in a video for the stylist Julien David for his spring/summer collection 2015 and in the video clip for “Unbound” by “The Cathedrals”, the “Spirit of Van Cleef & Arpels” video and Visa Checkout and Gap advertising, all in 2014. She plays Juliet in the film on Tomasson’s Romeo and Juliet: Great American Dance. She was nominated as best female dancer in 2014 by the “Circle National Dance Award (U.K.)” and for a Benois de la Danse in 2013 for her role of Tatiana in Onegin by Cranko. In 2009, she received a gold medal at the “NBC Superstars of Dance”. She won the “Isadora Duncan Dance Award” for the best individual performance for Giselle in 2008, gold medals at the International Competitions in Korea and Italy in 2005, gold medal at the Luxembourg International Ballet Competition in 2003, silver medal and the jury prize at Varna in 2002, silver medal at the Prix de Lausanne in 2002 and the bronze medal at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow in 2001.
In 2018, Maria decided to seek more freedom and chose to become a freelance principal dancer. She continues to dance all around the world to our great delight.
Following the pandemic, Maria decided to go back to her beloved company, the English National Ballet, in September 2021.
