Sergei Filin

Filin was born in Moscow. He started dancing at age seven at the V. Loktev's Children's Ensemble of Folk Dances. At this time, he appeared with Oleg Popov in the film The Sun in the Bag. At the age of nine, he was accepted into the Moscow Choreographic Institute. In 1988, he joined the corps de ballet of the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. He was promoted to the rank of Premier with the Bolshoi Ballet Company in 1990. He was also a principal dancer with the State Ballet of Georgia and guest soloist with the Vienna State Opera. Among his repertoire, Filin danced as Colas in La Fille Mal Gardée, the Teacher in The Lesson, and as Classical Dancer in The Bright Stream, a role for which he received the prestigious award Golden Mask. In December 2004, Filin suffered a severe injury while performing on stage at the Bolshoi Theatre. This incident put his career on hold for several months, before returning to the dance scene in the second half of the following year. On 18 March 2011, he was appointed to serve as the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. London, Japan and North America. == Acid attack ==

On 17 January 2013, Filin was attacked with acid by an assailant who cornered him outside of his home in Moscow. He suffered third-degree burns to his face and neck. While it was initially reported that he was in danger of losing his eyesight, his physicians stated on 21 January 2013, that he would retain eyesight in one eye. A confession to the attack was made by a man named Yury Zarutsky on 5 March 2013. He stated that Bolshoi Ballet Company dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko had hired both him and another man called Andrei Lipatov to attack Filin. According to Zarutsky, Lipatov drove him to Filin's home where he threw the acid in Filin's face. Following the confession, a spokesman from the Russian Interior Ministry stated that investigators considered the case closed. By 7 March, all three men confessed to the crime. Dmitrichenko confessed to arranging the attack, but maintained that he had not instructed the two men to use acid. Various motives have been presented by Russian police officials, primarily focusing on "personal hostile relations linked to their professional activities". == Roles ==

;Principal roles ;Soloist roles == Honors and awards ==

• 1994: Prix Benois de la Danse International Dance Association Prize for his role of Prince Désiré in Sleeping Beauty • 1995: Dancer of the Year – Danza-Danza Magazine • 1996: Merited Artist of the Russian Federation • 2001: People's Artist of the Russian Federation • 2002: Soul of Dance ("Star of Dance") Ballet Magazine • 2004: Golden Mask International Theatre Prize for his role as The Classical Dancer in The Bright Stream • 2006: International Ballet Award Stars of the XXI Century == References ==