World-renowned Russian ballet star Vladimir Shklyarov has died after falling from the fifth floor of a building on Saturday. Mariinsky Theatre, a venue in St. Petersburg, confirmed the news of his death. Shklyarov was the highest-ranking dancer at the Mariinsky Theatre.
“This is a huge loss for the entire Mariinsky Theater team,” the statement released by the team said.
Who was Vladimir Shklyarov
Renowned for his performance as Zéphyr in the 2007 premiere of Sergei Vikharev's reconstruction of Marius Petipa's The Awakening of Flora, Shklyarov also showcased his talent as Harlequin in Vikharev's revival of Michel Fokine's La Carnaval.
Shklyarov was married to Maria Shirinkina, a fellow dancer at Mariinsky. They have two children, a son and a daughter.
In 2014 and 2015, he was a guest dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. In early 2016, Shklyarov joined the Mariinsky Ballet on a U.S. tour.
Later that year, he and his wife took a one-year sabbatical from the Mariinsky Ballet to join the Bavarian State Ballet in Munich, Germany, as guest principals, at the invitation of Igor Zelensky, the company’s new artistic director.
Though they returned to Saint Petersburg in 2017, the couple continued performing as guest artists in Munich.
In 2017, Shklyarov joined The Royal Ballet in London as a guest principal. He stepped in at the last minute for Sergei Polunin, who withdrew from performing in Frederick Ashton's Marguerite and Armand.
For the last two decades of his career, Shklyarov starred in notable productions such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, and Don Quixote. Apart from his work at Mariinsky, he also performed roles as a guest artist with several companies outside Russia, including London's Royal Ballet and the America Ballet Theatre in New York.
In his career spanning over two decades, Sakharov received numerous accolades including the Léonide Massine International Prize in 2008. He was also appointed as an Honored Artist of Russia in 2020.
Born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Shklyarov graduated from the prestigious Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. After graduating in 2003, he joined the Mariinsky Theater the same year and has grown to become a principal dancer – the highest-ranking position in the company since 2011.
More on his death
The preliminary cause of the death has been judged as an accident, however, Russian authorities have launched an investigation into the dancer's death, a Russian state media outlet reported.
“He died a natural death. It’s not a crime,” a source in the emergency services told the media outlet.
As per the report, Shklyarov was scheduled for a complex spinal surgery two days after his death and he had been on serious painkillers for some time.