Marina Leonova - Bolshoi Ballet 1(2)

Marina Leonova -- Head of the Program and Master Teacher of Classical Dance, a 1969 graduate of Mme. Sofia Golovkina at the the Bolshoi Ballet Academy who was invited to join the famous Bolshoi Ballet company right after graduation, and was soon promoted to one of company's prima ballerinas. During her dancing career she has been seen in the leading parts at the Bolshoi and worldwide, including Odette/Odile in The Swan Lake, Giselle and Mirtha in Giselle, Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Aegina in Spartacus among others. As a performer Ms. Leonova has collaborated with Elizaveta Gerdt, Raissa Struchkova, Yuri Grigorovich and other leading choreographers and ballet coaches. She began her teaching career at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy while still dancing at the Bolshoi. In 1991 she received her MFA cum laude from the School of Choreography at the State Institute of Performing Arts (GITIS) where she studied under legendary prima ballerina, Ms. Marina Semenova. A professor of classical dance at the Bolshoi