WASHINGTON, July 2 (RIA Novosti) - Daniil Simkin, the Siberian-born principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre is to make his debut as Prince Desiré in Tchaikovsky’s “The Sleeping Beauty” at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City Wednesday.
Simkin, 25, who joined the company in 2008 and was promoted to principal dancer last year, was born in Novosibirsk to dancer parents but moved with his family to Germany in 1990.
Unlike the majority of professional ballet performers he was not trained in a school but coached at home by his mother. Noted not only for his athleticism but also his speed and precision, Simkin was one of the first dancers to make extensive use of social media, reaching out to fans via his own Youtube channel and Twitter.
“The Sleeping Beauty” premiered at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg in 1890. Lasting nearly three hours without intermissions, it is Tchaikovsky’s longest ballet. The version in which Simkin will dance has been edited down.
