Born in
Tallinn in
Estonia in 1974, Samodurov trained at the
Vaganova Academy in
St. Petersburg. Viacheslav joined the Mariinsky Ballet's corps de ballet in 1992. In 1996, he became a soloist, and won the 1st Prize at the Maya International Ballet Competition, St. Petersburg. He relocated to the UK to join the Royal Ballet in 2003, and left the company in 2010. He is artistic director of the Yekaterinburg Ballet Company since 2011/12 season. He choreographed Amore Buffo after L’elisir d’amore by
Gaetano Donizetti; Cantus Arcticus to the music of
Einojuhani Rautavaara; The Salieri Variations to the music of
Antonio Salieri; Colordelic to the music of
Pyotr Tchaikovsky,
Arvo Pärt and
Francis Poulenc; Curtain to the music of
Ottorino Respighi;
Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet (revision of the ballet mounted for the
Royal Ballet of Flanders in 2014), and The Snow Queen by Artyom Vasiliev. In 2016 he staged Ondine by
Hans Werner Henze at the Bolshoi Theatre. ==Selected repertoire==