Kotchetkova bowing out
Principal dancer Maria Kochetkova — who has graced the War Memorial Opera House stage with performances in such dances as “Giselle,” “Coppelia” and “Swan Lake” — will be leaving San Francisco Ballet following the 2018 season.
“The time has come for me to move on to other opportunities,” Kochetkova said. “I don’t know what my next big step is going to be, but I’m excited to see where it takes me. I’m very lucky and grateful for the career I had with San Francisco Ballet. I want to thank the dancers I shared the stage with and all the choreographers and teachers that I worked with in the past 11 years who made me the dancer I am now.”
Affectionately known as Masha among her colleagues and friends, Kochetkova has starred in almost all of San Francisco Ballet’s full-length ballets in recent years, but she also can count world premieres, including William Forsythe’s “Pas/Parts 2016”; Yuri Possokhov’s “Classical Symphony,” “Diving Into the Lilacs,” “Francesca da Rimini” and Swimmer”; and Helgi Tomasson’s “Caprice,” “On a Theme of Paganini” and “Trio,” on her long and impressive resume.
Kochetkova, who was born in Moscow in 1984, studied at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography. In addition to San Francisco Ballet, she has danced with the Bolshoi, Royal Ballet, English National Ballet in London and American Ballet Theatre. Her awards include the solo gold medal in the NBC series “Superstars of Dance” in 2009, an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for “Giselle,” gold medals at three international ballet competitions and a Benois de la Danse Award nomination.
Kochetkova becomes the second dancer who will leave the Ballet after this season: Soloist James Sofranko announced in January he was leaving the company to become artistic director at Grand Rapids Ballet in Michigan.
“Masha is a beautiful dancer, and it’s been a pleasure to watch her grow and further develop her exceptional talent during the past 11 years here at S.F. Ballet,” said Tomasson, the artistic director and principal choreographer of the company. “Along with San Francisco audiences, we will miss her; but we wish her all the best in her next adventure.” Leba Hertz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lhertz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @lhertz