Sergei Upkin – artistic director of International Ballet Summer Workshop Estonia, the principal soloist of Estonian National Ballet and ballet master
Sergei Upkin (born 1981) graduated from A. J. Vaganova’s Russian Ballet Academy as a ballet dancer in 1999 and as a Master in the Arts of Choreography in 2013. He has worked as a soloist and principal in Estonian National Ballet since 1999. In 2005-2007 he worked with the Berlin Staatsoper under the guidance of Vladimir Malakhov.
He has been a guest soloist in the Belgrade National Theatre, Helsinki National Opera and the Bucharest National Theatre. His repertoire consists of mostly classical leading roles as well as contemporary ones. He is an awardee of several famous International Ballet competitions such as Arabesque, Helsinki, Varna, Jackson and Premio Roma.
Sergei Upkin has been a ballet master and choreographer at the United Dance Company tour (2009). He has choreographed various short pieces for Estonian National Ballet’s dancers as well as for students from different ballet schools. His first male class at Tallinn Ballet School has graduated in spring 2018.