Olga Esina

Olga Esina was born in St. Petersburg. From 1996 to 2004, she studied at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in her hometown. From 2004 to 2006, she was a member of the Mariinsky Theatre Ballet, where she danced principal roles in the classical repertoire, including Odette/Odile in "Swan Lake," as well as parts in works by George Balanchine. In 2006, she joined the ballet of the Vienna State Opera and Volksoper as a soloist, and in 2010 she was promoted to first soloist of the Vienna State Ballet.

Her repertoire in Vienna includes numerous significant roles, such as Odette/Odile in Rudolf Nureyev's "Swan Lake" – a role in which she is also featured on the 2014 DVD release (C-Major) – Princess Aurora in Peter Wright's "The Sleeping Beauty," title role and Myrtha in Elena Tchernichova's "Giselle," Kitri and Queen of the Dryads in Rudolf Nureyev's "Don Quixote," title roles in Kenneth MacMillan's "Manon," Boris Eifman's "Anna Karenina," Rudolf Nureyev's "Raymonda," Michael Corder's "The Snow Queen," and Manuel Legris' "Sylvia," Marguerite Gautier in John Neumeier's "Lady of the Camellias," Hamsatti in Vladimir Malakhov's "La Bayadère," Bella in Roland Petit's "Die Fledermaus," Ada in Maurice Béjart's "Le Concours," Juliet in John Cranko's "Romeo and Juliet," Médora in Manuel Legris' "Le Corsaire," Ballerina in Boris Eifman's "Red Giselle," Swanilda in Gyula Harangozó Sr.'s "Coppélia," Princess Maria in Gyula Harangozó's "The Nutcracker," Queen in the world premiere of Martin Schläpfer's "The Sleeping Beauty," as well as works by George Balanchine, Jorma Elo, David Dawson, William Forsythe, Serge Lifar, Jean-Christophe Maillot, John Neumeier, Jerome Robbins, Heinz Spoerli, Christopher Wheeldon, and Hans van Manen, in whose video ballet "Live" she appeared in 2020 in a live time-delayed stream on ARTE concert and in the television broadcast on ORF 2. In Jorma Elo's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," she created the role of Titania, in Patrick de Bana's "Marie Antoinette" the title role, and in András Lukács' "The White Pas de Deux."

Guest performances have taken Olga Esina to Hungary, France, Argentina, Italy, Russia, Germany, England, Spain, Japan, and the USA. Her accolades include the Prix International from the magazine "Ballet 2000" (2008), as well as nominations for the Prix Benois de la Danse (2006 and 2012) and the Taglioni Award (2014). In the 2023 yearbook of the magazine "tanz," Olga Esina received a nomination as "Dancer of the Year" for her role as the Queen in Martin Schläpfer's "The Sleeping Beauty."