Vladimir Djouloukhadze

Vladimir Djouloukhadze (Don José) and Maka Makharadze (Carmen) were the first Georgian performers in Alberto Alonso’s ballet Carmen Suite staged by Alexander Plisetski in Tbilisi in 1983.

Vladimir Djouloukhadze was highly acclaimed for his portrayal of the Moor in José Limón’s 'The Moor's Pavane' (1986).

His first major role was of Colin in ‘La Fille mal gardée’ followed by Laertes in ‘Hamlet’ (music by Revaz Gabichvadze/ choreography by Vakhtang Chabukiani) in 1972.

His neoclassical ballet repertoire includes ‘Notre-Dame de Paris’ (Hunchback) by Roland Petit, Georgi Aleksidze‘s one-act ballets ‘The Oresteia' (Orest) and ‘Die Fledermaus’. Djouloukhadze also danced solos in Serenade and Theme and Variations by George Balanchine and partnered with Balanchine’s niece Tsiskari Balanchivadze.

Djouloukhadze toured the world with the 'Stars of the Bolshoi Ballet', 'Stars of the Soviet Ballet' and ‘Ballet Stars of Moscow, Kiev and Tbilisi’ along with such great ballet dancers as Maya Plisetskaya, Māris Liepa, Marina Kondratieva, Vyacheslav Gordeev, Vilen Galstyan, Malika Sobirova, Valeri Kovtun, Tatiana Tajakina, Nina Sorokina, Yuri Vladimirov, Nina Semizorova, Vadim Pisarev and others.

Djouloukhadze choreographed one-act ballets in neoclassical style ‘Reflections’ (music by Sergei Prokofiev) and ‘Dancing with Verdi’(music by Giuseppe Verdi), pieces in academic character style -‘Jota Aragonesa’ (music by Mikhail Glinka), ‘Tarantella’ (music by Louis Gottschalk), and ‘Scheherazade’ (music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. He also staged The Nutcracker and ballet showcases for the Mississippi Ballet company and ‘Peasant Dances’ from ballet ‘Giselle’ for the Peabody Dance of Johns Hopkins University. His works received numerous prizes at various dance competitions, including YAGP and Showbiz National Talent.

Djouloukhadze moved to the U.S. in 1991 and served as a Ballet Master and Artistic Director for the Ballet Mississippi, Jackson, Mississippi, until 1993.

In 1990 he coached a Georgian ballerina Irma Nioradze (a winner of the bronze medal) for the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi and performed as her non-competitive partner.

Vladimir Djouloukhadze started his career as a ballet teacher at the V. Chabukiani Ballet Art State School in 1980. In the USA he served as a director of the Mississippi Ballet School (1991-1993), a faculty member of the Kirov Academy of Ballet (1993-2008), and the Washington Ballet School (2008-2017). After leaving the school he started private ballet coaching.

In 1979 Vakhtang Chabukiani revived the ballet Laurencia for the Georgian National Opera and Ballet Theater of Tbilisi with Vladimir Djoulukhadze and Irina Jandieri in the leading roles.

In 1970 Djouloukhadze joined the Georgian National Opera and Ballet Theater of Tbilisi and quickly moved to the rank of a principal dancer, a position he held until 1990.

Vladimir Djouloukhadze, or Juluhadze, or Djuluhadze, (Russian -Владимир Алексеевич Джулухадзе, Georgian - ვლადიმერ ჟულუხაძე ), born in 1952, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, USSR, is a Georgian ballet dancer, a former principal of the Georgian National Opera and Ballet Theater of Tbilisi, Ballet Master, teacher, and choreographer.