The ballet community is mourning the loss of Vladimir Shklyarov, a renowned principal dancer at the Mariinsky Theatre, who died at the age of 39. His death was announced by the St Petersburg company, which stated that federal authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding it, as he reportedly fell from a fifth-floor building while on painkillers. Shklyarov was celebrated as an extraordinary artist and leaves behind his wife, Maria Shklyarov, and two children.