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Escape with ballet dancer

Xander Parish OBE

Season 1, Ep. 5

Today's guest is Yorkshire-born ballet dancer Xander Parish, who made history as the first British dancer to join the illustrious Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg back in 2010.

 

He is now a principal dancer at one of the most famous ballet companies in the world and was awarded an OBE for his services, both to dance and British-Russian cultural relations.

 

Xander’s life in Russia has a storybook quality and not just because St. Petersburg is a city of jewel box coloured palaces – his repertoire includes romantic roles such as Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty’s Prince Désiré and our favourite star-crossed lover, Romeo.

 

Xander’s insights into St. Petersburg offer a treasure trove of cultural delights. Beyond Russia, he has performed gravity-defying leaps in some of the most magical places around the globe.  

 

XANDER PARISH’S CULTURE GUIDE

Swan Lake (ballet) choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, and music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

 

Nutcracker (ballet) choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

 

DESTINATION INSPIRATION

The Algarve, Portugal

Yorkshire, England

St. Petersburg

The Mariinksy Theatre

Yusupov Palace 

The Hermitage

Fabergé Museum

Sadko Restaurant, St. Petersburg

Shapki, Russia

Havana, Cuba

Gran Teatro de la Habana

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Athens

Positano

Li Galli Islands (the ‘dance island’), Italy

 

If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast 

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