After winning the Prix de Lausanne in 2002, Kochetkova danced with the The Royal Ballet as an apprentice, then later danced at the English National Ballet for four years, during which she mostly danced corps roles but also the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. In 2007, after Kochetkova took classes with the San Francisco Ballet, she joined the company as a principal dancer at the invitation of Helgi Tomasson. She danced roles such as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Swanilda in Coppélia , Tatiana in Onegin and lead role in Theme and Variations. She also created roles such as David Dawson's Anima Animus and Christopher Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour. She also danced the title role in the US premiere of Wheeldon's Cinderella. Kochetkova performed the Grand Pas de Deux in San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker which was broadcast by PBS in 2008 and won the solo gold medal in the NBC series Superstars of Dance. In 2013, she appeared in documentary Ballet's Greatest Hits, dancing don Quixotegrand pas de deux, with Taras Domitro as Basilio and Skylar Brandt as bridesmaid. She starred as Juliet in the 2015 filmed version of Romeo and Juliet. She also appeared in various music videos and advertisements. Kochetkova is also known for her social media presence, with hundred of thousands of followers around the world. In 2015, Kochetkova joined the American Ballet Theatre but remain a principal dancer in San Francisco Ballet, and split her time between San Francisco and New York City. At ABT, she danced roles such as the title role in Giselle, Medora in Le Corsaire and Nikiya in La Bayadère. She remained a principal of ABT until 2017. In 2018, Kochetkova left San Francisco Ballet after the company's Unbound Festival. She later stated it is because she wanted more freedom and be closer to her mother, who lives in Moscow. Kochetkova now perform as a freelance dancer. She danced with the Norwegian National Ballet and Dresden Semperoper Ballett as a principal guest artist, and returned to English National Ballet as a guest artist. In 2019, Kochetkova presented her solo program, Maria Kochetkova: Catch Her If You Can at the Joyce Theater. It featured works by David Dawson and William Forsythe, as well as appearances of Sofiane Sylve, Carlo di Lanno and Drew Jacoby.She also performed in Germany, Russia, Italy, Spain and Hong Kong.
