Roman Rykine began his training at the Rudolph Nureyev State Ballet Academy in Ufa, Russia. During his last two years at the academy, Mr. Rykine was given the opportunity to perform the roles of “Prince Siegfried” in Swan Lake, “Albrecht” in Giselle, “The Poet” in Les Sylphides and “Colas” in La Fille mal gardée with Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theatre. 

Upon his graduation in 1993, Mr. Rykine was immediately invited to join Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theatre as a principal dancer. That same year, he was awarded the gold medal and first prize at the International Ballet Competition in Lausanne, Switzerland. He also won the bronze medal at the Rudolph Nureyev International Ballet Competition in Budapest, Hungary and was awarded the honorary title of “Artist of Merit of the Republic” from the Government of Ufa, Russia.

In 1994, Mr. Rykine received the bronze medal at the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi and was invited to join the English National Ballet as a principal dancer. He starred in a wide range of full-length classical ballets including Rudolph Nureyev’s Romeo and Juliet, Ben Stevenson’s The Nutcracker, Derek Deane’s Giselle and Alice in Wonderland, Michael Corder’s Cinderella and Marius Petipa’s Swan Lake.

Mr. Rykine joined San Francisco Ballet as a principal dancer in 1996. During his six years with the company, he toured throughout Europe, Japan, China, Korea, Russia and the United States. 

In 2003, Mr. Rykine joined Boston Ballet as a principal dancer.  He retired from dancing in December 2010 and since then has been sharing his knowledge and experience with the younger generation of dancers as a guest faculty member at the Boston Ballet School.  The RWB School was pleased to welcome Mr. Rykine as a Professional Division artistic faculty member in January 2012.