After joining the company as Director of Repertoire in 2022 and becoming Interim Artistic Director late last year, Timour Bourtasenkov has been appointed Cleveland Ballet’s new Artistic Director.
“We are thrilled to be led by someone of Timour’s national and international stature as Artistic Director of Cleveland Ballet. A nationally recognized choreographer with numerous leading roles and awards from Japan to Paris to New York, Timour demonstrated how well he works with our talented dancers as he prepared them for our successful run of The Nutcracker.”
– Larry Goodman, Interim CEO, Cleveland Ballet
About Timour Bourtasenkov
Timour Bourtasenkov trained at the Moldavian Opera House and the Bolshoi Ballet before arriving in the United States to dance with Pennsylvania Ballet, New Jersey Ballet, and Carolina Ballet.
As a founding member and Principal Dancer of Carolina Ballet, Bourtasenkov was featured in many roles created for him by then Artistic Director Robert Weiss. His repertory also includes works by:
- Marius Petipa
- Lev Ivanov
- Mikhail Fokine
- Leonid Massine
- Auguste Bournonville
- Arthur Saint-Leon
- George Balanchine
- Jerome Robbins
- John Cranko
- Frederick Ashton
- Antony Tudor
- José Limón
- Peter Martins
- Robert North
- Margo Sappington
- William Forsythe
- Richard Tanner
- Lynne Taylor-Corbett
- Christopher Wheeldon
As a choreographer, he has worked with companies including Carolina Ballet, Ballet Hawaii, and Infinity Ballet, as well as been chosen to work with New York City Ballet dancers in 2004 during the New York Choreographic Institute.
His ballets include Calderiana, Dance of the Spirits, Dances for Piano and Violin, Elements, Fallen Dreams, Intrigue, Light and Dark, Memories, sections of Messiah, Slavonic Dances, Tango! Tango! Tango!, The Jungle Book, Vivaldia’s Gloria and Walpurgisnacht.
Before arriving in Cleveland more than two years ago, Timour Bourtasenkov served as Assistant Professor at East Carolina University from 2006-2009 and was on the faculty of Cary Ballet Conservatory from 2015-2022.
Featured Photo of Cleveland Ballet Company Artists Gabriela Checo, Covington Pearson, and Breanna Justus with Timour Bourtasenkov. Photo by New Image Photography.
