Maia Makhateli

Maia Makhateli (born ca. 1986)[1]is a Georgian ballet dancer. After terms with the Colorado Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet, she joined the Dutch National Ballet in 2006, where she now is a principal dancer.[2]

Maia Makhateli
Born1986 (age 33–34)
Tbilisi, Georgia
Occupationballet dancer
Spouse(s)Artur Shesterikov
Children1
Current groupDutch National Ballet
Former groupsColorado Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet

Early life

Makhateli was born in Tbilisi, Georgia. Her parents, Nikoloz Makhateli and Marina Loladze, were dancers at the Georgian National Ballet.[3] Her grandfather was a notable folk dancer and her grandmother was an opera singer.[4] Her older brother David is also a dancer (formerly a principal with The Royal Ballet).[5] Starting at age 9, she trained in ballet at the Vakhtang Chabukiani Choreographic Choreographic Institute[4] in Tbilisi with Larisa Chkikvishvili.[6]

Career

When she was 15, her father was offered a job with the Sun Valley Ballet School in Ketchum, Idaho, US. Makhateli also attended the school, where she danced in The Nutcracker together with her brother David.[7] Her parents now run the Makhateli Ballet Academy in Denver, Colorado.[2] Maia trained in Colorado with German Zamuel and Valentina Mukhanova.[8]

In 2002, she joined the Colorado Ballet. She made her full length principal role debut at age 19, dancing Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty.[4] Hoping to dance for a bigger company and be closer to Europe, she joined the Birmingham Royal Ballet as a soloist in 2006.[4] That year, paired with her brother, she danced Romeo and Juliet at the World International Ballet Festival in Tokyo, saying, "It's quite hard to be Juliet when Romeo is your brother."[1] After finding England 'too cold and grey', she auditioned for the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam. She joined the DNB in 2007 as a grand sujet. Two years later, she became a soloist, and she was promoted to principal dancer in 2010.[6][7] She has danced leading roles such as Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty and Odette/Odile in Swan Lake.[9][10] In 2020, Makhateli originated the role of Frida Kahlo in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Frida.[11]

She was a guest teacher at The Hague's 2014 Summerschool Den Haag program and has been a guest artist at the Portland Oregon Ballet.[8]

Personal Life

Makhateli is married to Artur Shesterikov, also a principal dancer with DNB. They have one son, Luka.[12] When Makhateli was 40 weeks pregnant, a video was made of her balancing en pointe on one leg. This video was shared by American actress Jennifer Garner.[13]

Awards[2]
  • 2015, Alexandra Radius Award
  • 2011, Nina Ananiashvili & Gilbert Star Award (Georgia)
  • 2002, Youth American Grand Prix
  • 2002 (New York City, United States), finalist
  • 2002, Denver Ballet Guild's Young Dancer’s competition (United States), 1st
  • 2002, Youth America Grand Prix Competition (Denver, United States), 2nd
  • 2001, Chabukiani-Balanchine International Ballet Competition
  • 2001, Internationae Ballet Festival, ‘diplomat’ (Kazan, Russia)
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References
  1. "Siblings Sharing the Stage". Dance Magazine. November 2007. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  2. "Maia Makhateli". Dutch National Opera & Ballet. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  3. "Cupcakes & Conversation with Maia Makhateli, Principal, Dutch National Ballet". Ballet News. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  4. "Maia Makhateli". Zarely. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  5. "David Makhateli". Youth American Grand Prix. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  6. "Maia Makhateli". Birmingham Royal Ballet. 10 April 2007. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  7. "Maia Makhateli". Dutch National Ballet. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  8. "Teachers Summerschool Den Haag 2014". Summerschool Den Haag. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014.
  9. "The principals of The Sleeping Beauty are announced". Dutch National Opera. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  10. "A Swan Lake of awe inspiring beauty in Amsterdam". Bachtrack. 18 March 2019.
  11. "Frida Kahlo Could Barely Walk. In This Ballet, She Dances". New York Times. 17 January 2020.
  12. "Ballet Family", Smithsonian Magazine.
  13. "Jennifer Garner Shared A Mind-Blowing Video Of A Pregnant Ballerina". Buzzfeed. 4 February 2019.
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