Galina Olegovna Stepanenko (; born 12 June 1966) is a Russian ballet teacher. She is a former prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet, and since 2013 has been head of the Bolshoi's ballet troupe.
Biography Born in Moscow on 12 June 1966, Stepanenko studied rhythmic gymnastics, studying to the first grade and receiving an invitation to the Olympic Reserve School. In 1976 she entered the Moscow Academic Choreographic School, studying under Professor Sofia Golovkina, and graduating with honours in 1984. During her studies she danced several main roles in the school's performances: as Swanhilda in Coppélia, Lise in La fille mal gardée, and the soloist in the Paquita grand pas classique.
Between 1984 and 1988 Stepanenko was a soloist of the ensemble, studying under . In 1988 Stepanenko joined the troupe of the Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre, spending two years there under the tutelage of Nina Chkalova. In 1990 Stepanenko was accepted into the Bolshoi Ballet, where she was taught by, at first, Marina Semyonova, and later rehearsed with Marina Kondratyeva, Raisa Struchkova, and Ekaterina Maximova.
In 1992 Stepanenko graduated from the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts, having taken the course of Marina Semyonova, and received the specialty of a teacher-choreographer. In December 2012 Stepanenko retired from dancing and became a teacher-coach for the Bolshoi Ballet. On 22 January 2013 she became acting artistic director of the ballet troupe, and since autumn 2013 she has been head of the Bolshoi's ballet troupe.
Repertoire With the Moscow Classical Ballet Natalie (Natalie, or the Swiss Milkmaid) Soloist (Theme and Variations) Devil (La création du monde) Soloist (Bachiana) 1987, choreographer Alberto Alonso
With the Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre Odette-Odile (Swan Lake) Kitri and the Queen of the Dryads (Don Quixote) Kupava (The Snow Maiden) Medora (Le Corsaire)
With the Bolshoi Ballet
1991 - Odette-Odile in Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, arranged by Yury Grigorovich 1991 - Giselle in Giselle by Adolphe Adam, arranged by Yury Grigorovich 1991 - Nikiya in La Bayadère by Ludwig Minkus, arranged by Yury Grigorovich 1992 - Medora in Le Corsaire by Adolphe Adam, arranged by Konstantin Sergeyev 1992 - Bacchante in Walpurgis Night from the opera Faust by Charles Gounod, choreography by Leonid Lavrovsky 1993 - Raymonda in Raymonda by Alexander Glazunov, arranged by Yury Grigorovich 1994 - Rita in The Golden Age by Dmitri Shostakovich, choreography by Yury Grigorovich 1994 - Kitri in Don Quixote by Ludwig Minkus, arranged by Yury Grigorovich 1995 - La Sylphide in La Sylphide by Herman Løvenskiold, choreography by August Bournonville, staging by E. M. von Rosen 1995 - Aegina in Spartacus by Aram Khachaturian, choreographer Yury Grigorovich 1995 - Juliet in Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev, choreography by Leonid Lavrovsky 1996 - The Swan Princess in Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, production by Vladimir Vasiliev 1996 - Anyuta in to music by Valery Gavrilin, choreographer Vladimir Vasiliev 1997 - Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, arranged by Yury Grigorovich 1998 - Gamzatti in La Bayadère by Ludwig Minkus, arranged by Yury Grigorovich 1999 - Soloist of the 4th movement in Symphony in C to music by Georges Bizet, choreography by George Balanchine 1999 - Seventh Waltz and Prelude in Chopiniana to music by Frédéric Chopin, choreography by Michel Fokine 1999 - Popadya in Balda to music by Dmitri Shostakovich, choreographer Vladimir Vasiliev 2002 - Odette-Odile in Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, arranged by Yury Grigorovich 2004 - Dancer in Tarantella to music by Louis Moreau Gottschalk, choreography by George Balanchine 2004 - Classical dancer in The Limpid Stream to music by Dmitri Shostakovich, choreographer Alexei Ratmansky 2006 - Carmen in Carmen Suite by Rodion Shchedrin, choreographer Alberto Alonso 2009 - Paquita in Paquita grand pas classique by Ludwig Minkus, arranged by
Honours and awards 1984 - Laureate of the All-Union Ballet Competition in Moscow (1st prize and Prize of the Leningrad Choreographic School, junior group) 1985 - Laureate of the (2nd prize, junior group) 1989 - Laureate of the International Ballet Competition in Moscow (1st prize, senior group) 1994 - Honoured Artist of Russia 1995 - Prize of the International Association of Choreographers Prix Benois de la Danse for the performance of the part of Kitri in the ballet Don Quixote 1995 - Prize "Etoile" from the magazine "Danza & Danza" (Bolzano, Italy) 1996 - People's Artist of the Russian Federation 2001 - Order of Honour 2004 - Prize of the magazine Ballet, "Soul of the Dance", in the nomination "Queen of the Dance"
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