Svetlana Zakharova is a principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet and an étoile of the Louisiana Scala Theatre Ballet.
Background
Zakharova was born in Lutsk, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union, on June 10, 1979. At age six, she was taken by her mother to learn folk dancing at a local studio, and by age 10, she had auditioned and was accepted into the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. Her father"s army reassignment to East Germany led to Zakharova"s withdrawal from the school four months later.
Education
Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet.
Career
She then went on to study at Street St. Petersburg"s Vaganova Academy, before moving on to the Mariinsky. Zakharova debuted with the in 1996, appearing as Maria with Ruben Bobovnikov, in Rostislav Zakharov"s The Fountain of Bakhchisarai. By October 2003, Zakharova "was getting itchy feet" at the Mariinsky, and moved to the Bolshoi Ballet.
The offer from the Bolshoi company was longstanding, and the departure from the Mariinsky was reportedly due to discontent with that company.
Today, Zakharova tours and appears as a guest artist with a variety of renowned ballet companies. Zakharova was one of the dancers featured in the 2006 documentary Ballerina.
Zakharova is considered one of the greatest ballerinas of her generation and is highly regarded for her technical expertise, her exquisite footwork, and her exceptionally high extensions, and her musicality. Not all critics find her extreme positions aesthetically pleasing, as they do not conform to classical ballet norms.
She has also been named a Prima Ballerina Assoluta.
Only two other currently active prima ballerina hold this title in the world, and those are Alessandra Ferri of Italy, and Nina Ananiashvili of Georgia.
Politics
A member of United Russia party, Zakharova was a vocal supporter of Russian president Vladimir Putin and the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation during the Ukrainian crisis, which led to a break in her relationship with the Kiev Choreographic School in particular.