Natalia Osipova, principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London, is set to perform in Tel Aviv on December 17 and 18 at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. The acclaimed ballerina will present her ballet program, Force of Nature, which features a blend of classical excerpts alongside contemporary dance pieces created specifically for her.

Born in Moscow, Osipova trained at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography before joining the Bolshoi Ballet, where she quickly advanced from the corps de ballet to performing eight solo roles in her first season. Her international breakthrough came in 2007 during the Bolshoi’s visit to London, when she performed the role of Kitri in Don Quixote, directed by Alexei Ratmansky. This performance garnered widespread acclaim and helped establish her global reputation.

Since then, Osipova has performed with leading ballet companies and theaters in major cultural centers including Paris, Milan, Berlin, and New York. She joined the Royal Ballet in 2013, where she remains a principal dancer. Her collaborations span prominent contemporary choreographers such as Ratmansky, Arthur Pita, Akram Khan, and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Over her career, she has received numerous honors, including the National Dance Awards and the Benois de la Danse prize.

The Tel Aviv performances will include excerpts from some of Osipova’s hallmark classical roles, including Giselle and the technically demanding pas de deux from Le Corsaire. The program will also feature Frederick Ashton’s Isadora, a choreography inspired by modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan and set to Brahms’ waltzes.

In addition to these classical works, the Force of Nature program highlights new contemporary pieces. Among them is Ashes, an intimate duet developed by Osipova and American dancer-choreographer Jason Kittelberger, who will also perform alongside her. Ashes explores themes of human relationships through movement. Osipova and Kittelberger co-founded the Blooms Dance Project, an independent initiative that showcases selections from both classical and contemporary repertoires while fostering the development of new productions.

This series of performances will also introduce the world premiere of a new work created in partnership with an Israeli choreographer, whose identity has not yet been disclosed.

Force of Nature, the title under which Osipova has toured in recent years, was also the focus of a 2018 documentary by British filmmaker Gerald Fox that traced her rehearsal and performance process. In 2022, Osipova expanded the concept into a full stage program that presents highlights from her diverse career.

The upcoming December performances in Tel Aviv are produced by Alon Yurik Productions.