Xander Parish

Alexander Robert Nigel Parish (born 1986), is an English ballet dancer and the first British dancer to be employed by the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg, Russia.

Biography
Xander Parish born in 1986 in North Ferriby in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. He began dancing at the age of 8, at the Skelton-Hooper School of Dance in Kingston upon Hull, under the direction of principal and former Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet Theatre soloist, Vanessa Hooper. In 1998, he was accepted into the Royal Ballet School, first attending the lower school at White Lodge, Richmond Park, then continuing his training at the upper school.

He graduated into the Royal Ballet in 2005, as a member of the corps de ballet. He remained with the company for five years, before joining the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg, Russia in January 2010. He made his debut with the company performing the role of the poet in the ballet Chopiniana as a Coryphee, a corp member who may dance solo or even principal roles. He was promoted to soloist in March 2014 and principal dancer in July 2017 Parish has a sister, Demelza Parish, was previously a dancer with the Royal Ballet.

In early March 2022, Parish decided to temporarily leave Russia due to Russian invasion of Ukraine. In August, he joined the Norwegian National Ballet.

Honours
He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to dance and UK/Russia cultural relations.

Repertoire includes

 * Giselle – Count Albrecht
 * Swan Lake – Prince Siegfried, Friends of the Prince
 * La Sylphide – Youths
 * The Sleeping Beauty – Prince Desire
 * Raymonda – Jean de Brienne, Beranger
 * Le Corsaire – Conrad
 * Chopiniana – Youth
 * Scheherazade – Zobeide's Slave
 * The Fountain of Bakhchisarai – Vaslav, Polish Youths
 * The Nutcracker – Nutcracker Prince, Elegant Cavaliers
 * Spartacus – Satyr
 * Romeo and Juliet – Romeo, Paris, Troubador
 * Apollo – Apollo
 * Serenade
 * Etudes
 * Symphony in C
 * Jewels – Emeralds and Diamonds
 * Ballet Imperial
 * A Midsummer Night's Dream – Demetrius
 * Sylvia – Aminta
 * Marguerite and Armand – Armand
 * In the Night
 * Adagio Hammerklavier
 * Variations for Two Couples
 * Anna Karenina – Count Vronsky, Tushkevich
 * Concerto DSCH
 * Without
 * La Nuit s'Acheve
 * Le Parc- Soloist
 * Infra
 * Intensio
 * Paquita-Andres
 * The Four Seasons
 * Russian Overture
 * Second I

Created roles

 * DGV, Danse a Grand Vitesse – Choreographer: Christopher Wheeldon
 * Seven Deadly Sins – Choreographer: William Tuckett
 * I'm Not Scared – Choreographer: Ilya Zhivou

Awards

 * Ursula Moreton Choreographic Award – 1st Prize, 2003
 * Ursula Moreton Choreographic Award – 2nd Prize, 2004
 * Genee International Ballet Competition – Finalist, 2003
 * Genee International Ballet Competition – Silver Medal, 2004
 * Young British Dancer of the Year – 2nd Prize, 2004