Vladimir Shklyarov, Russian ballet star, dies aged 39 after falling from building

Russian ballet artist Vladimir Shklyarov passed away at the age of 39 after falling from the fifth floor of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. The dancer was taking pain medication for an injury. Vladimir Shklyarov, a celebrated Russian ballet dancer, passed away at the age of 39. A representative for the Mariinsky Theatre told the news source Fontanka over the weekend that Shklyarov passed away on Saturday after falling from the fifth storey of a building.

Shklyarov had been taking medications for a back problem and was set to have spinal surgery on Monday, the spokesperson, Anna Kasatkina, said Russian media. The Russian news agency RIA Novosti stated that although a federal investigation has been opened to look into the dancer’s death, “the preliminary cause” has been determined to be an accident.

Shklyarov, who was born in St. Petersburg in 1985, began working for Mariinsky Theatre in 2003 and rose to the position of principle dancer in 2011, which is the highest position in a ballet company. The business referred to Shklyarov’s passing as “a huge loss.” “We send our sympathies to the artist’s family, friends, and loved ones, as well as to all of the many people who appreciate his talent and body of work. He left his mark on ballet history for all time,” it stated.

Shklyarov starred in Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, and Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice in Wonderland over his 20-year career. He gave performances all around the world, notably with the Royal Opera House in London and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. He married Maria Shirinkina, a fellow dancer with the Mariinsky Theatre, in 2013, and the two of them had two kids.

Following the announcement, Russian dancers honored Shklyarov, and Irina Baranovskaya posted on Telegram that his death was “a stupid, unbearable accident.” Shklyarov “went out onto the balcony to get some air and smoke,” according to Baranovskaya, and “lost his balance” on the “very narrow balcony.” Diana Vishneva, a Mariinsky dancer, wrote: “This tragedy brings only sadness and tears … This is our theater’s tragedy, our collective sorrow, and our sense of emptiness. “The favorite companion was you. My courageous Prince in Cinderella, my lovely Romeo.

On Instagram, the American Ballet Theater, where Shklyarov performed as a guest in 2014 and 2015, recalled him as “an incredible artist whose grace and passion inspired audiences worldwide”. “Rest in peace, Vladimir. Your light will continue to shine through the beauty you brought to this world.”