| Christine Shevchenko Крістіна Шевченко | |
| Birth Place: | Odesa, Ukraine |
| Occupation: | Ballet dancer |
| Years Active: | 2006-present |
| Current Group: | American Ballet Theatre |
Christine Shevchenko (Ukrainian: Крістіна Шевченко, born 1988) is a Ukrainian-American ballet dancer. She currently performs as a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre.[1]
Born in the Odesa, Ukraine, her father was a gymnast, and her mother was a dancer and actor. At age four, Shevchenko started training in rhythmic gymnastics at an Olympic Reserve School in Odesa, under the direction of Nina Vitrychenko.
When she was eight, her family immigrated to Pennsylvania and enrolled her in The Rock School for Dance Education, under the direction of Bo and Stephanie Spassoff. Shevchenko danced the children's lead (Marie) in Pennsylvania Ballet's The Nutcracker for three years, and was featured in the NBC special, Degas and the Dance.
In 2003, Shevchenko became the youngest recipient of the Princess Grace Award, and she later won several awards at international competitions, including Youth America Grand Prix, USA International Ballet Competition, and Moscow International Ballet Competition.
Shevchenko studied with Lev Assaulyak and Olga Tozyiakova. She also worked with choreographers Fernando Bujones, Benjamin Millepied, Elena Tchernichova, and Vladimir Shoumeikin.
In 2006, Shevchenko joined the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, where she danced in several classical and contemporary pieces. The following year, she joined the main company as an apprentice and became a full time member of the corps de ballet in 2008. In 2013, when she was still in the corps, Shevchenko replaced an injured Gillian Murphy in Piano Concerto #1. Though she only knew half of the choreography and learned the rest an hour before the show, her performance was praised by critics.[2] [3]
She became a soloist in 2014. In the 2017 Metropolitan Opera House season, Shevchenko debuted as Kitri in Don Quixote, which was her first leading role. The following week, she filled in for an injured dancer as Medora in Le Corsaire, after learning the role during the weekend. She ended the season with her debut in Balanchine's Mozartiana, and was promoted to Principal Dancer later that year.[4] She has since danced other principal roles such as Odette-Odile in Swan Lake, Myrtha in Giselle and Mademoiselle Marianne Chartreuse in Whipped Cream.[5] [6] Shevchenko was coached by Irina Kolpakova at ABT, and had traveled to St. Petersburg to work with Margarita Kullik of Mariinsky Ballet.[7]
Shevchenko's repertoire with the American Ballet Theatre includes:[1]