Xander Parish

Alexander "Xander" Robert Nigel Parish OBE (born 1986) is an English ballet dancer and actor and was the first British dancer to be employed by the Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Early life and education Parish was born in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. He began dancing at the age of eight at the Skelton-Hooper School of Dance in Kingston upon Hull. In January 2010, Parish joined the Mariinsky Ballet as a coryphée.

In March 2021, Parish held his debut photographic exhibition at the Arts Square Gallery in St. Petersburg, featuring 42 photographs shot backstage at the Mariinsky Theatre. The exhibition lasted three weeks.

In early March 2022, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Parish temporarily left Russia. In August 2022, he joined the Norwegian National Ballet.

In November 2023, the Norwegian National Ballet invited Parish to stage his own version of Raymonda Act III, titled Raymonda Suite, for 26 dancers.

In September 2022, Parish formed Reunited in Dance with the support of Elizabeth Segerstrom, aiming to support dancers affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The debut performance was held at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts Concert Hall in October 2022.

Acting In 2019, Parish was cast in Olga, a film by Suzanne Gielgud about Olga Spessivtseva, portraying the role of Anton "Pat" Dolin. The film was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2024, he made his stage acting debut in The Gates of Kyiv, a play by Ian Kelly, alongside Stockard Channing, Michael Praed, and Gala Chistiakova at the Theatre Royal Windsor.

Personal life Parish's sister, Demelza Parish, was previously a dancer with The Royal Ballet. Awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Hull in 2017.

Awards Ursula Moreton Choreographic Award – 1st Prize (2003) Best Young Male Dancer at the 1st Taglioni European Ballet Awards (2014) Outstanding Male Performance (Classical) for Apollo at the Critics' Circle National Dance Awards (2014)