Meet the Judges
The Design Stars, Tastemakers, and Lifestyle Luminaries Who Voted on Booktique’s Book of the Year
Maria Kochetkova
PRIMA BALLERINA
FORMERLY WITH SAN FRANCISCO BALLET AND AMERICAN BALLET THEATER
Maria Kochetkova, known as “Masha” to her fans, is a prima ballerina, fashion icon, and boundary-pushing muse to creatives around the world. Winner of the Prix de Lausanne, Maria trained at the Bolshoi Ballet School and danced with The Royal Ballet in London before joining the San Francisco Ballet in 2007 as a principal dancer. She went on to headline at American Ballet Theatre and, most recently, the Finnish National Ballet. Over the course of her career, she originated title roles for dozens of choreographers and has appeared as a guest artist on stages across the U.S. and Europe. She is based in Copenhagen where she recently welcomed her first child.
Follow Maria @BALLETRUSSE
“When I’m on stage, I don’t have to worry about anything. I can let go and just dance, as if I were dancing for myself. And the audience can look through the dancing and see the story.”
You don’t have to be a ballet fan to fall in love with Masha—but you’ll quickly become one as you take a scroll through her wildly popular Instagram feed. There she shares glittering onstage performances and rehearsal footage alongside cheeky backstage snapshots, fashion selfies, and pics from her international travels. This year, she wowed her followers with a series of fearless posts that documented her pregnancy, culminating in the announcement of her daughter Cleo’s birth in May—the same month she was serving as a Booktique Awards judge. (We spy the winning books in the background of Cleo's first online appearance!) Here’s the new mom in action, plus a few of our other favorite posts from her famed feed.
Images from top left (L-R each row): 1) LAUSANNE, 2023 - Announcing her pregnancy to her Instagram fans from backstage at Prix de Lausanne 50th Anniversary, 20 years after she herself won the competition’s top prize at age 17. 2) LONDON, 2021 - Backstage at the London Coliseum before performing in the Nutcracker with the English National Ballet. 3) OSLO, 2019 - A rest in between performances as Nikiya in La Bayadere at the Oslo Opera House. 4) MOSCOW, 2018 - With Daniil Simkin at the Bolshoi Theatre where they performed in Don Quixote as guest dancers with the Kremlin Ballet. 5) MOSCOW, 2018 - Backstage with dancer Polina Semionova during the Prix Benois de la Danse competition at the Bolshoi Theatre. 6) SAN FRANCISCO, 2016 – Posting from the airport while en route to Berlin to rehearse STYXwith British choreographer David Dawson. 7) NEW YORK, 2016 - Detail of the headpiece she wore in the titular role of Golden Cockerel at Lincoln Center, choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky for American Ballet Theater. 8) NEW YORK, 2016 - Backstage at Lincoln Center after performing in Swan Lake. 9) NEW YORK, 2015 - At the emptied-out Koch Theater following the opening night performance of American Ballet Theater's 2015 fall season.
Meet More of Our Judges
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Simone LeBlanc
Gift Curator and Designer
Founder of Gifting Company Simone Leblanc -
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Jonathan Adler
Potter and Designer
Founder of Jonathan Adler -
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Joy Cho
Creative Director
Founder of Oh Joy! -
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Hilton Carter
Plant Stylist
Author of Wild at Home -
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Brigette Romanek
Interior Designer
Founder of Romanek Design Studio -
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Chris Morocco
Chef
Food Director of Bon Appetit Magazine -
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Humberto Leon & Carol Lim
Fashion Designers and Entrepreneurs
Cofounders of Opening Ceremony -
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Hopie Stockman & Grier Stockman
Textile Designers
Founder/CEO (left) and Marketing Director (right) of Block Shop Textiles -
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Chelsea N. Nassib
Art Curator and Entrepreneur
Founder of Tappan Collective
