Xander Parish

Alexander Robert Nigel Parish (born 1986), is an English ballet dancer and the first British dancer to be employed by the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg, Russia.

Biography

Xander Parish born in 1987 in North Ferriby in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. He began dancing at the age of 8, at the Skelton-Hooper School of Dance in Kingston upon Hull, under the direction of principal and former Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet Theatre soloist, Vanessa Hooper. In 1998, he was accepted into the Royal Ballet School, first attending the lower school at White Lodge, Richmond Park, then continuing his training at the upper school.

He graduated into the Royal Ballet in 2005, as a member of the corps de ballet. He remained with the company for five years, before joining the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg, Russia in January 2010. He made his debut with the company performing the role of the poet in the ballet Chopiniana as a Coryphee, a corp member who may dance solo or even principal roles. He was promoted to soloist in March 2014 and principal dancer in July 2017 Parish has a sister, Demelza Parish, was previously a dancer with the Royal Ballet.

In early March 2022, Parish decided to temporarily leave Russia due to Russian invasion of Ukraine. In August, he joined the Norwegian National Ballet.

Honours

He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to dance and UK/Russia cultural relations.

Repertoire includes

Giselle - Count Albrecht

Swan Lake - Prince Siegfried, Friends of the Prince

La Sylphide - Youths

The Sleeping Beauty - Prince Desire

Raymonda - Jean de Brienne, Beranger

Le Corsaire - Conrad

Chopiniana - Youth

Scheherazade - Zobeide's Slave

The Fountain of Bakhchisarai - Vaslav, Polish Youths

The Nutcracker - Nutcracker Prince, Elegant Cavaliers

Spartacus - Satyr

Romeo and Juliet - Romeo, Paris, Troubador

Apollo - Apollo

Serenade

Etudes

Symphony in C

Jewels - Emeralds and Diamonds

Ballet Imperial

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Demetrius

Sylvia - Aminta

Marguerite and Armand -Armand

In the Night

Adagio Hammerklavier

Variations for Two Couples

Anna Karenina - Count Vronsky, Tushkevich

Concerto DSCH

Without

La Nuit s'Acheve

Le Parc- Soloist

Infra

Intensio

Paquita-Andres

The Four Seasons

Russian Overture

Second I

Created roles

DGV, Danse a Grand Vitesse – Choreographer: Christopher Wheeldon

Seven Deadly Sins – Choreographer: William Tuckett

I'm Not Scared – Choreographer: Ilya Zhivou

Awards

Ursula Moreton Choreographic Award – 1st Prize, 2003

Ursula Moreton Choreographic Award – 2nd Prize, 2004

Genee International Ballet Competition – Finalist, 2003

Genee International Ballet Competition – Silver Medal, 2004

Young British Dancer of the Year – 2nd Prize, 2004

References

Living people

1987 births

People educated at the Royal Ballet School

English male ballet dancers

Dancers of The Royal Ballet

Mariinsky Ballet dancers

Officers of the Order of the British Empire