NURLAN ABOUGALIEV

Nurlan Abougaliev

Nurlan Abougaliev, a native of Kazakhstan, is a former principal dancer with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. He has danced leading roles such as Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, Prince Desiree in The Sleeping Beauty, and Albrecht in Giselle. He also has danced principal roles in Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, Who Cares?, Agon, and Serenade.

Nurlan’s other roles include Paul Taylor’s Company B; Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, Nine Sinatra Songs and Octet; Dwight Rhoden’s Ave Maria; Mark Morris’ Maelstrom, Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes, and Sandpaper; Ben Stevenson’s Dracula; and Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort.

Nurlan studied at the Almaty Ballet Academy, where he trained using the Vaganova method. His coursework included classical ballet, including character, pas de deux, music, and the history of ballet. In 1997, he moved to Moscow to work with the Russian National Ballet and later Moscow City Ballet.

Nurlan came to the United States in 2003 to join the Ballet Internationale, where he worked with renowned teachers including Irina Kolpatkova and Vladilen Semenov. With Ballet Internationale, Nurlan has performed in International Dance Festivals and toured in the United States, South Africa, Japan, England, China, and South Korea.

Nurlan’s teaching experience includes Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, Pittsburgh Youth Ballet, Ohio Ballet Conservatory, Ballet East FL, Champaign Urbana Ballet, Russian Ballet Academy of Maryland, Ballet Conservatory of Asheville, and Morgantown Dance WV.

Nurlan specializes in the technique established by the famous Russian pedagogue, Agrippina Vaganova. Nurlan is pleased to share his broad experience of performing works by renowned choreographers and dancing in different ballet styles with his students.

2019-2020  W.B.A.C. GRAND PRIX International Ballet Competition. Inviting with the honor as the Judge and representative in Kazakhstan.