Ballet dancer Vladimir Shklyarov fell from a fifth-floor balcony after taking painkillers ahead of back surgery, Russian media reported.

Vladimir Shklyarov, an acclaimed Russian ballet dancer, has died at age 39 after falling from a building, according to a representative for the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Shklyarov had been on painkillers waiting for a complex spinal surgery when the incident occurred, according to a representative from his dance company

Vladimir Shklyarov, a world-renowned Russian ballet star, has died after falling from the fifth floor of a building on Saturday.

Shklyarov, a principal with the prestigious Mariinsky Theatre, is being remembered as an "extraordinary artist".

Principal Russian ballerina Vladimir Shklyarov died at the age of 39 after suffering a fall from the fifth-floor balcony of a building.