Follow of the week: peek into a ballet dancer’s life

Take a look behind the heavy and high brow curtains of classic ballet with this Russian dancer.

I’m so honored to receive Ballerina of the Year award: the Positano Premia la Danza de Leonide Massine Prize the oldest dance award in the world. Here warming up a few hours before the ceremony

A post shared by Maria Kochetkova (@balletrusse) on Sep 11, 2017 at 8:32am PDT

Behind the glamour of opening night, the life of a ballerina is usually a secretive thing, defined by hard work and sacrifice. Maria Kochetkova is the principal dancer at the San Francisco Ballet and American Ballet, and her Instagram account @balletrusse offers a sneak peak into daily rehearsals, backstage life, dancing in unusual places and the ultimate ‘ballet dancer off duty’ style inspiration.

Kochetkova is also known to the wider public as the ballet dancer from the music video for I Know by Blood Orange, in which she dances with musician Dev Hynes.