Colorado Ballet's Principal Dancer, Maria Mosina Announces Retirement After 26 Seasons

After 21 seasons as a Principal Dancer at Colorado Ballet and 26 seasons as a professional dancer, Maria Mosina announced her plan to retire at the end of the 2016-2017 season.

"To be honest, I would dance forever, but I believe this is the time for me to step out and give the opportunity to younger dancers to step in and dance for our audience," said Mosina. "The 2016-2017 will be my last season as a member of the Colorado Ballet Company."

According to Mosina, she has mixed feelings about retiring because her brain and body do not feel like she has to stop dancing, but she knew going into the season that it would be the last of her professional career. While teaching this summer, she accidentally bumped into a metal barre and broke her foot while teaching. "I'm working very hard, doing my best for a fast recovery, and I'm hoping that I will dance the full season," said Mosina. "Of course, throughout my career, there were little injuries and there's always pain, but I don't feel that it is time to stop because my body feels that it is enough. I think it's better to stop when you're on top of your career and not when you are going down."

Mosina says that the thing she will miss most is spending time in the studios working on ballets. This is where she spent most of her time as a professional dancer. "On stage, of course, it's magic, but it's a finished product," said Mosina. "Most of the time, we're in studio working so hard, digging into our body, our brain, our soul, to pick up the best way to present our body, our soul to the audience. And for me, it's the most interesting process."

When Gil Boggs became the artistic director of Colorado Ballet in 2006, he said that he was overjoyed to find Maria Mosina dancing with the Company. "Maria is an artist who could have been a member of any major company in the world," said Boggs. "Because she chose Colorado Ballet, she helped to make this Company truly exceptional. Her sheer artistry and professionalism are a joy to behold. It was a teary moment for me when realization came that her career was coming to an end. I respect her artistry and what she has brought to this organization day after day."

Mosina said that she is also thankful to Colorado Ballet Artistic Director Gil Boggs, for the opportunity to be a leader over the years and for trusting in her art and for previous Artistic Director Martin Fredmann for giving her a job in the Company, for believing in her and giving her the opportunity to dance different styles. "Martin helped me open up and gave me confidence that I was able to trust in myself and my ability to dance different styles and difficulties, "said Mosina. "He developed my talent with the repertoire and with the choreographers that worked with the Company and made me believe that I was capable of doing anything. And I feel like Gil gave me the opportunity to show to the audience and to the Company my experience. He used me as an example of how to deal with the whole process, rehearsals, preparation for roles, and how to have a positive attitude for the work that was needed. I feel that he was very respectful to me for who I was as a professional dancer."

Looking back on her career, Mosina says she is thankful for the opportunities she has had to work with amazing choreographers, coaches, partners, mentors and teachers around the world. "I was very fortunate that throughout my career, I had a lot of people close to my heart-people, mentors that guided me through my career," said Mosina. "Teachers, who not only showed me the steps of ballet but they helped me to create the parts and roles. They'd tell me about little secrets and details that their teachers told them. There is a little chain, and I think it's time for me to give this knowledge and my experience to younger generations."

After she retires at the end of the season, she plans to continue her work in the studio, but on the other side, as a teacher, mentor and coach to younger dancers. Mosina says that this transformation feels easier because she will continue to serve the art of ballet, just in a different role.

"Everyone knows that the career of a ballet dancer is not so long, but for me, I had 26 years of dancing professionally, and I've traveled around the world and shown my art to different audiences," said Mosina. "I've worked with the best teachers, coaches and choreographers and I'll be very thankful for all my life that I had the opportunity."

About Maria Mosina:
Maria Mosina was born in Moscow and graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Russia. Upon graduation, Mosina joined the Bolshoi Ballet Grigorovich Company and was chosen for principal roles. She toured the world appearing on all major European, American, African and Asian stages. In 1995, Colorado Ballet invited Mosina to join as a leading principal dancer.

She has performed all major parts in classical productions such as Clara and Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Sylphide in La Sylphide, Odette-Odille in Swan Lake, Aurora and Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle in Giselle, Swanhilda in Coppelia, Kitri in Don Quixote, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Talioni in Pas de Quatre, The Dying Swan, Le Spectre de La Rose and pas de deux from Le Corsaire, Talisman, Paquita, Les Sylphides. Ms. Mosina also had the chance to show her talent in neoclassical, modern and contemporary choreographed master pieces such as Balanchine's Apollo, Rubies, Theme and Variations, Western Symphony, Serenade, Concerto Barocco, Stars and Stripes and Who Cares?, as well as Christopher Weeldon's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Peter Pucci's Size Nine Spirit (as seen on PBS). She has also performed Alvin Ailey's River, Martha Graham's monumental Appalachian Spring, Agnes De Mille's Rodeo, Paul Taylor's Company B, F. Ashton's Facade, Antony Tudor's Leaves are Fading and Echoing of Trumpets, Twyla Tharp's Nine Sinatra Songs and In The Upper Room, Glen Tetley's The Rite of Spring, Michael Pink's Dracula and Hunchback of Notre Dame, S.Welch's Of Blessed Memory, Val Caniparoli's In Pieces, Martin Fredmann and Alun Jones' Romeo and Juliet, and Ben Stevenson's Cinderella, A Little Love, Mon Dieu, Sechertorte, Silent Woods and Dreamspace (as seen on PBS), Vebre's Where the Wild Things Are, Clark Tippet's Bruch Violin Concerto No.1, Matthew Neenan's The Faraway, Lynn Taylor-Corbett's Great Galloping Gottschalk, Lar Lubovitch's ...smile with my heart, Emery LeCrone's Archetypes, Jodie Gates' Embellish, Sandra Brown's The Last Beat, and many more.

Mosina has been featured in numerous magazine articles and was a featured dancer on the cover of Dance Magazine in 1997. She holds a bachelor's degree in methodology and pedagogy from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography. She is also an active ballet instructor throughout the United States. Additionally, Mosina participated as a master teacher and judge for the Youth American Grand Prix.

About Colorado Ballet

Established in 1961 by Lillian Covillo and Freidann Parker, Colorado Ballet is a non-profit organization celebrating 56 years of presenting world-class classical ballet and superior dance in Denver. Under the direction of Artistic Director Gil Boggs, Colorado Ballet presents more than 50 performances annually. Colorado Ballet enhances the cultural life of Colorado through performances of the professional company, training at the Academy, and Education & Community Engagement programs. Visit www.coloradoballet.org.

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