By Vladimir Shklyarov, principal dancer of the Mariinsky Theater and one of Russia’s most celebrated ballet stars, died Saturday after falling from the fifth floor of a building while awaiting spinal surgery. He was 39.
The Mariinsky Theater confirmed the death of the acclaimed dancer, with company representative Anna Kasatkina telling local news outlet Fontanka that Shklyarov was on painkillers in preparation for a complex spinal procedure scheduled for Monday. Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported that while an investigation has been launched, preliminary findings list the cause as accidental.
“This is a huge loss not only for the theater’s staff, but for all of today’s ballet art,” the Mariinsky Theater said in a statement. “His boundless creative abilities were recognized with numerous awards. He forever inscribed his name in the history of world ballet art.”
Born in Saint Petersburg in 1985, Shklyarov joined the Mariinsky Theater ballet troupe in 2003 after graduating from the Academy of Russian Ballet, rising to principal dancer in 2011. His repertoire included leading roles in classical productions such as “Swan Lake,” “The Nutcracker,” “Romeo and Juliet,” and “Giselle.”
His talent reached far beyond Russia’s borders, with guest performances at prestigious venues including American Ballet Theater, New York’s Metropolitan Opera, London’s Royal Opera House, and Washington’s Kennedy Center. American Ballet Theater remembered him on social media as leaving “an indelible mark on our stage and in our hearts.”
The dancer is survived by his wife, ballerina Maria Shylyarov, and their two young children. His death marks the loss of one of ballet’s most dynamic performers of his generation, cutting short a career that had already achieved international acclaim.
