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Xander Parish

@_xander

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OBE | Founder of @balletclassdotcom | Follow my photography @lifeinrussianballet | Follower of ✞ | Married to @demidova_wl

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Looking ahead to NBR’s debut season in Florence… 🦢✨

Hear from our Artistic Director, @_xander , on creating a production where the joy onstage translates directly to the audience.

#nouveauxballetsrusses #ballet #firenze #florence by @_xander

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5 days ago

HOGMANAY | THREE EXCEPTIONAL DAYS OF BALLET

Join us in beautiful Edinburgh this Betwixtmas for three days of intensive classical ballet training with a truly extraordinary international faculty.

28–30 December 2026 | Edinburgh

✨ Four levels, from Junior to Pre-Professional
✨ An exceptional opportunity to train with leading figures in the ballet world

Following the sell-out of our Pre-Christmas Intensive, and with our October Intensive Masterclass Days very near capacity, applications for Hogmanay are gathering pace, and availability is already limited in certain levels.

If you’re considering joining us in Edinburgh this December, we would encourage you to apply soon.

Applications open | Link in bio

#ElevateBalletTraining #Hogmanay #BalletIntensive #Edinburgh #ClassicalBallet taken in Dance Base by @_xander

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5 days ago

A New Ballet Company is Born 🦢

The @new.generation.foundation today announces, at the @teatrodelmaggio , the launch of the Nouveaux Ballets Russes.

Just as Paris in the 1920s became the city in which the Ballets Russes were born, Florence will become the birthplace of the Nouveaux Ballets Russes, with the Company making its debut at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in March 2027 with the world premiere of a new production of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.

Marking 150 years since the ballet’s first performance, the production will be choreographed by Xander Parish OBE, Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the Nouveaux Ballets Russes, with stage direction by @jeanromainvesperini and conducted by Maestro James Conlon, conducting the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Sets are by Bruno de Lavenère and video design by Étienne Guiol, both part of the artistic team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony, with an internationally renowned cast including @joy.womack , @vsevolod_maievskyi , @boriszhurilov and @matvienko_family .

The Nouveaux Ballets Russes draws inspiration from the international and multidisciplinary spirit of the Ballets Russes, founded in 1909 by Sergei Diaghilev, which revolutionised the arts by bringing together the leading creative figures of its time, breaking down boundaries between disciplines and transforming ballet’s expressive possibilities. NBR carries that spirit into the modern era, reinterpreting the classical repertoire through bold, visually distinctive productions that unite dance, music, visual art, fashion and technology as a single creative force, driven by the pursuit of artistic excellence.

With this important project, the New Generation Foundation opens a new chapter in its history, expanding on its work in opera, music and theatre.

Read the full press release through the link in our bio.

#nouveauxballetsrusses #ballet #firenze #florence by @_xander

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18 days ago

Down the memory lane with @_xander at the @royalballetschool White Lodge, Richmond Park

With special thank you to @dance_europe by @_xander

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a month ago

We are incredibly excited to announce the full faculty for our second annual International Intensive in Edinburgh:

Tomas Karlborg
Joy Womack
Xander Parish OBE
Anastasia Demidova
Nicola Tarry

And, completing this exceptional line-up, we are delighted to have the world famous ballet pianist David Plumpton joining us at the piano.

Three intensive days of exceptional training across four carefully structured levels, from Junior through to Pre-Professional, bringing artists and dancers to Scotland from across the globe to train together in the heart of Edinburgh in the lead up to Hogmanay.

And while our Classical Variations Intensive continues in London this week, plans for the rest of the year, and beyond, are in the making. We have so much more to share in the months ahead.

If you have been thinking about joining us in Edinburgh, now is the time to apply. With this exceptional faculty, we anticipate places filling quickly.

EDINBURGH | December 28-30th
Applications now open ✨ by @_xander

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2 months ago

Thank you @coventgardendance for another fantastic time performing at Hatch House and congratulations @mattbrady9173 on the 20th anniversary of CGDC!
Thanks to my brilliant partner @joy.womack for lots of fun on stage and to all the cast for the time together. Thanks @shanyanart for the video ☺️ taken in Hatch House by @_xander

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3 months ago

Always good to be in Italy! Congratulations @alessiocarboneofficial and all your wonderful dancers of @ballettodivenezia on the incredible performances! by @_xander

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3 months ago

Performing last night with @joy.womack at a special event for @graff. This was our “backstage”… I could get used to it!
Thank you Joy and @haleclay for a great time! by @_xander

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3 months ago

What an amazing experience to attend the Grand Day Dinner at Lincoln’s Inn Fields thanks to the Treasurer of the society Elspeth Talbot Rice KC! The honourable society of Lincoln’s Inn has been in existence for over 600 years and the Grand Day has its origins in Revels which were going on as early as 1431. We celebrated in the Victorian Great Hall rather than the Old Hall where King Charles II attended a revel in 1672! Wonderful to experience such tradition and history! Here also with @alexandertalbotrice by @_xander

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5 months ago

What a beautiful opening night at Iconique 2026 ✨🩰🇧🇸

As the sun set over The Island House, our incredible cast captivated the audience with breathtaking artistry and elegance. The energy in the theatre was amazing, and our Bahamian audience made it a night we won’t forget.

As Shanyan Koder @shanyanart so perfectly put it:
 “Such a beautiful evening celebrating the magic of dance.”

Thank you to everyone who joined us for such a special evening.

A few tickets remain for tonight’s grand finale, so if you haven’t booked yet, this is your last chance to experience the magic of Iconique 2026.

Link in bio to book tickets 🎟️

Featured cast: @joy.womack @_xander
Photographer: Eddy Raphael @eddyunderwater

#BalletGala #CoventGardenDanceCompany
#JoyWomack #XanderParish #BahamasEvents taken in Nassau Bahamas by @_xander

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7 months ago

We’re delighted to introduce one of our most adored cast members who returns to Iconique 2026✨🩰🇧🇸

Xander Parish OBE
International Guest Artist

In 2010, Xander made history as the first British dancer to join The Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia, and was promoted to Principal dancer in July 2017 after the opening night of Swan Lake during the Mariinsky Ballet’s London season at Covent Garden.

In 2017, the University of Hull awarded Xander an Honorary Doctorate, and in 2019, he was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list for services to dance and UK-Russia Cultural Relations. In 2025, he was knighted by the Royal Order of Francis I of the Two Sicilies for achievements in the arts.

Xander has been a guest artist with companies including the Kremlin Ballet, Stanislavsky Ballet, English National Ballet, Opera National Bucharest, and American Ballet Theatre. In 2021, he launched the ballet training platform balletclass.com.

From 2022 until 2024, he performed with the Norwegian National Ballet as a Principal Dancer. In November 2023, the company invited him to create and stage his own version of Raymonda Act III, titled “Raymonda Suite,” for 26 dancers.

In September 2022, Xander became Artistic Director of Reunited in Dance and has staged performances in prestigious venues internationally, beginning with the Segerstrom Centre for the Arts in Orange County, Festival Napa Valley, and most recently Teatro della Pergola in Florence as part of the New Generation Festival.

In September 2024, Xander made his stage acting debut in “The Gates of Kyiv,” a play by Ian Kelly, alongside Stockard Channing, Michael Praed, and Gala Chistiakova at the Theatre Royal Windsor. He was named by Variety Magazine as one of their “10 Brits to Watch 2025.”

To watch Xander perform with Joy Womack @joy.womack under the Bahamian stars click the link in our bio to BOOK one of the last remaining tickets!

Tickets have almost sold out! To watch Joy perform, click the link in our bio for prices and availability ✨🩰

Photographer credit: @_natasha_razina @dancersdiary @alicepennefather

#IconiqueBallet #TheBahamas #XanderParish #CoventGardenDanceCompany #BalletGala taken in Nassau Bahamas by @_xander

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7 months ago

Photo by @mikheeva_yulia_foto 🖤 by @_xander

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8 months ago