Denis Matvienko

Denis Matvienko is one of the most distinguished Ukrainian ballet artists of his generation, renowned for his exceptional career as a principal dancer, artistic director, educator, and producer. A graduate of the Kyiv State Choreographic School, he later earned qualifications as a choreography teacher at the International Slavic University in Ukraine, laying the foundation for a career that has combined artistic excellence with leadership and mentorship.

He began his professional career in 1997 with the National Opera of Ukraine in Kyiv before continuing at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. Over the following two decades, he held principal positions with the Mikhailovsky Theatre and the Mariinsky Theatre, while also serving as Artistic Director of the Ballet of the National Opera of Ukraine and later of the Novosibirsk Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. From 2020 to 2022, he was Assistant Professor in the Department of Classical Ballet and Pas de Deux at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in St. Petersburg.

As a guest principal dancer, Matvienko has performed with many of the world’s leading ballet companies, including the New National Theatre Tokyo, the Bolshoi Theatre, Teatro alla Scala, the Paris Opera, American Ballet Theatre in New York, and the Mikhailovsky Theatre. He has also toured extensively with the Bolshoi, Mariinsky, and Mikhailovsky theatres, appearing at prestigious venues such as London’s Covent Garden and Coliseum theatres.

His repertoire encompasses virtually all leading roles of the classical ballet canon, as well as works by many of the most influential choreographers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with artists including George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, William Forsythe, Roland Petit, Frederick Ashton, Yuri Grigorovich, Natalia Makarova, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Edward Clug, Nacho Duato, Alexei Ratmansky, Harald Lander, Christopher Wheeldon, Mauro Bigonzetti, Rudolf Nureyev, Pierre Lacotte, and Dwight Rhoden.

An internationally acclaimed artist, Matvienko is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including Grand Prix prizes at the International Ballet Competitions in Luxembourg, Budapest, and Moscow, as well as the Gold Medal and the Vaslav Nijinsky Prize in Nagoya. In 2006, he was awarded the honorary title of Honored Artist of Ukraine. His distinctions also include the Spirit of Dance Award, the Dance Open International Ballet Prize for Best Partnership, and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan’s award for achievements in culture. 

Beyond his performing career, Matvienko has been actively engaged in developing opportunities for the next generation of dancers. In 2014, he co-created, produced, and performed the title role in The Great Gatsby, choreographed by Dwight Rhoden, which toured more than thirty-five theatres across Europe and the Middle East. In 2020, he co-founded Ballet of the Future, an annual audition project designed to connect emerging ballet graduates with leading international companies. Two years later, he launched Ballet Stage, a platform supporting Ukrainian ballet artists and students affected by the war by connecting them with theatres, schools, companies, and cultural institutions around the world.

From 2022 to 2024, he was a Guest Principal Dancer with the Slovenian National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana. In 2025, he served as Artistic Director of the Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre Split. On 1 July 2026, he was appointed Artistic Director of Ballet at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.