CAREER IN DANCE
Maria Baranova was born in Finland to Ukrainian parents and started her dancing career in the early 2000’s in a special training programme of the Helsinki Dance Institute. At the same time she was attending the French-Finnish school of Helsinki.
After completing nine years at the Helsinki Dance Institute, she took part in a prestigious young dancers’ competition Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland. The success that followed led to a scholarship provided by the renowned artistic director John Neumeier to join the Hamburg Ballet School. With Neumeier's guidance and mentorship, Maria swiftly advanced to the graduating year. She graduated with a leading role in “Des Knaben Wunderhorn”, composed by Gustav Mahler. This marked a defining moment in her career. Maria worked at the Hamburg Ballet for three years (2009-2011) during which she performed various solo roles and was selected in many original casts of Neumeier's new creations.
Maria has achieved significant competition success internationally, with the most notable prize being the Erik Bruhn Prize in Toronto, Canada with "Giselle" pas de deux from 2nd act and "Chopin Dialogues" created specifically for her by Neumeier. In addition to this, she won the first prize at the International Ballet Competition in Helsinki in 2012, among many others.
Maria’s strong performance was recognised, and in 2011 she was persuaded to take the position of a prima ballerina at the Finnish National Ballet.
In April 2015, Maria’s journey led her to the Boston Ballet, following an invitation from the artistic director Mikko Nissinen. Since 2019 Maria has been dancing at the Bavarian State Ballet in Munich as a prima ballerina, where she is currently dancing leading roles in both classical and modern productions.
Maria has collaborated with a number of luxury brands from various industries (e.g. cosmetics, fashion and automotive). She excels at showcasing the beauty and plasticity of a dancer’s body in different contexts – always curating a unique vision for the event or brand in question. She continues to serve the art form of dance through an unparalleled work ethic and discipline.
Maria’s mission is to create dialogue between different crafters of their metier and modern audiences. She wants to make ballet more visible, accessible and attractive through interesting productions and brand partnerships.
