Filip Barankiewicz dancer, pedagogue, director of the Czech National Ballet.
Born on 15 September 1976 in Warsaw, Filip Barankiewicz began his dance education at the age of 10 at the Roman Turczynowicz Ballet School in Warsaw. He debuted as a pupil, dancing in such ballets as Mozart and Salieri and The Nutcracker, as well as in Emil Wesołowskis Droga [The Road], choreographed especially for him. In 1991, he was awarded the Vaslav Nijinsky medal. In 1995, he won the 1st prize in the Classical Dance category, competing in the senior boys group at the 9th National Dance Competition in Gdańsk. That same year, he graduated from secondary school and was finalist at the Eurovision Young Dancers competition in Lausanne, where he performed excerpts from Marius Petips Paquita and Hans van Manens 5 Tangos. The jury included president Heinz Spoerli, honorary member Maurice Béjart, and Pierre Lacotte and Peter van Dyk, among others. 1995 also saw Barankiewicz receive a scholarship from the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation, and begin his education at Académie de Danse Classique in Monte Carlo.
In 1996, he completed his studies in Monte Carlo and joined the Stuttgart Ballet, where he was appointed a soloist (2001) and first soloist (2002), respectively.
Barankiewicz has performed at a number of ballet stages and participated in numerous galas and festivals, dancing to choreographies of such artists as John Cranko, Frederick Ashton, John Neumeier, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Maurice Béjart, Jiří Kylián, Kenneth MacMillan, Hans van Manen, Jean-Christophe Maillot, Uwe Scholz, William Forsythe and Peter Schaufuss. Barankiewiczs artistic resume spans all major male parts in the classical and contemporary repertoire of the Stuttgart Ballet. He has danced with some of the greatest female performers in the world, including Polina Semionova, Allesandra Ferri, Alina Cojocaru and Maria Eichwald.
In 2003, Barankiewicz completed his pedagogical studies. He currently works as a guest tutor and pedagogue, assisting in ballet productions. On 20 December 2014, he was appointed the artistic director of the Czech National Ballet, his tenure beginning in the 2017/2018 season.
Compiled by Joanna Brych
