Daniil Simkin

Daniil Dmitrievich Simkin (; born 12 October 1987) is a Russian-born ballet dancer and entrepreneur. He was formerly a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre and the Berlin State Ballet. Based in New York, he founded Studio Simkin, a production company focused on digital and interdisciplinary ballet projects.

Simkin has cited Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev, and his father, Dmitrij Simkin, as early influences.

Early life and training Simkin was born in Novosibirsk, Russia, and grew up in Wiesbaden, Germany, as a German citizen. His parents, former ballet dancers Dmitrij Simkin and Olga Aleksandrova, met while performing at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. His half-brother, Anton Alexandrov (born 1977), danced with the Hamburg Ballet and is now a ballet teacher.

Simkin studied ballet privately with his mother, and was her first student. He received a conventional academic education in Wiesbaden and completed Abitur, the German qualification to attend university, alongside his ballet studies. Simkin was invited to perform in the gala “Stars of the 21st Century” in Paris, and subsequently in New York. He joined Wiener Staatsballett (Vienna State Ballet) in 2006 and was promoted to first soloist in 2007.

In 2008, Simkin joined American Ballet Theatre as a soloist, where he performed a wide range of roles. He was described by The New York Times critic Gia Kourlas as “a dancer happiest in the air.”

Simkin was promoted to principal dancer at ABT in December 2012. Jerome Robbins, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, and Merce Cunningham, and created new roles with choreographers such as Benjamin Millepied and Alexei Ratmansky.

In 2018, Simkin joined Staatsballett Berlin (Berlin State Ballet) as a principal dancer, a position he held in parallel with his role at ABT. He noted that the move would enable him to perform more Europe‑centric contemporary choreography and explore a broader range of creators; he also cited Berlin’s contemporary cultural scene as an inspiration. During his first season, Ratmansky created a new La Bayadère for the company, in which Simkin danced Solor.

Studio Simkin In 2021, Simkin founded the production company Studio Simkin to explore digital and interdisciplinary formats for ballet productions, with an emphasis on collaboration and experimentation.

Independent productions In 2015, Simkin co-produced Intensio with the Joyce Theater in New York, which premiered at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in July 2015, toured Houston and Buenos Aires in November 2015, and ran at the Joyce for a week in January 2016. Dancers at the New York debut included Isabella Boylston, Alexandre Hammoudi, Blaine Hoven, Calvin Royal III, Hee Seo, Cassandra Trenary, James Whiteside, and Céline Cassone.

Falls the Shadow (2017) was co-produced with, and staged at, the Guggenheim Museum, New York. The multidisciplinary dance installation featured choreography by Alejandro Cerrudo; video design by Dmitrij Simkin in partnership with interactive media designer Arístides Job García Hernández; and costumes by Dior.

Diorama (2020), co-produced with Staatsballett Berlin, is a dance film conceived at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with Simkin’s longtime partner Maria Kochetkova. It features choreography by Sebastian Kloborg and music by the Kronos Quartet. The film received the award for “Best Screen Dance Film under 10 Minutes” at the 2021 San Francisco Dance Film Festival.

Selected repertoire American Ballet Theatre