CNN —Vladimir Shklyarov, a world-renowned Russian ballet star, has died after falling from the fifth floor of a building on Saturday. His death was confirmed by the Mariinsky Theater, a venue in the city of St. Petersburg where Shklyarov was the highest-ranking dancer. “This is a huge loss for the entire Mariinsky Theater team,” it said. Shklyarov died two days before he was due to undergo complex spinal surgery and had been taking “serious painkillers” for some time, Russian media reported. Born in Leningrad — now St. Petersburg — Shklyarov studied at the prestigious Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet and graduated in 2003.

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