Dance
Anastasia Tillman’s Biography
Anastasia Tillman has graduated with Honors from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy of Moscow Russia.
The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, founded in 1773 by Empress Czarina Catherine the Great, is one of the oldest and most established schools for classical ballet training, has produced numerous world-class dancers, teachers, and choreographers. With its 246-year history, the Academy is steeped in a rich cultural tradition with a strong curriculum and a pedagogy that focuses on strength, musicality, clarity, and personal expression. Most of the Principal Dancers of the Bolshoi Ballet graduated from the Academy and are among the leading dancers in the world today.
Additionally, Stasi has been competing in Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP), the largest International Student Ballet Competition in the world, since 2009. At the age of 9 she was awarded 2nd place in the Pre-Competitive Category at the U.S. Regional Semi-Finals held in Dallas. In 2010, Stasi was awarded 1st place in the Semi-Finals in the Pre-Competitive Category as well. In 2011, she won the coveted Hope Award at the U.S. Regional Semi-Finals held in Houston. In 2012, in her first year in the Junior division, Stasi was awarded 2nd place in the Junior Classical Category, and she was in the top 12 in the Junior Contemporary Category in the Semi-Finals. In 2013, in her second year in the Junior division, Stasi was awarded 1st place in the Junior Classical Category. Furthermore, she qualified for and competed in the New York City Finals of the Youth America Grand Prix for the last five years in a row.
Stasi’s 2012 participation in YAGP New York City Finals resulted in her being invited to audition for a new Broadway musical entitled Little Dancer about the ballet dancer that inspired Edgar Degas. Stasi auditioned and made all callbacks.
2014 was Stasi's first year at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. She took the year off from competition to acclimate herself to her new life as a student at the world's premier ballet school. 2015 was a busy year for Stasi. She placed 3rd in Classical Ballet and Contemporary Categories at the YAGP San Diego Regional Semi-Finals and was invited to compete in the YAGP Finals in New York City that year but was unable to attend as her Bolshoi academic finals precluded her from attending. In Brussels Belgium, Stasi placed 2nd in Classical Ballet and Contemporary Categories at the Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition. Stasi performed as a student demonstrator, in New York City, for the Bolshoi Academy helping train American ballet teachers the Bolshoi technique. In 2016, Stasi competed in the Helsinki International Ballet Competition as a semi-finalist. In Orlando she was a Finalist in the World Ballet Competition and was invited to perform in the Gala during the closing ceremonies, all while being a full-time student at Bolshoi.
Stasi had studied classical ballet and pointe 6 days a week at the Ballet Conservatory under Artistic Director, Kelly Lannin, and was a member of the school's regional company, LakeCities Ballet Theatre, where she has had the opportunity to perform in The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker and several YAGP ensembles. She also performed the role of Clara in the LakeCities Ballet Theatre's 2011 production of the Nutcracker. Please visit http://lakecitiesballet.com for more information about the company and the upcoming productions.
Anastasia aspires to be a professional ballet dancer.