Diana Vishneva

📍Saint Petersburg, Russia

“Diana Vishneva was born in Leningrad in July 1976, and grew up in the city of canals, palaces and white nights, home of the Kirov Ballet. At six she began going to a children's choreography club, where she discovered her love of dance and her teachers saw her remarkable flexibility, musicality and expressive face. In 1987, at eleven, she entered the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet on Rossi Street, where generations of great ballerinas had trained. She studied with Lyudmila Kovalyova, who shaped her technique and her bold, dramatic style, and she quickly became one of the school's brightest stars. In 1994, while still a student, she won the gold medal at the Prix de Lausanne, one of the most important competitions for young dancers. In 1995 she joined the Mariinsky Ballet, and became a principal the following year. She became one of the greatest ballerinas of her generation, famous for her Juliet, Manon and Giselle, and in 2005 she also joined American Ballet Theatre as a principal, dancing in New York for more than a decade. She was named People's Artist of Russia in 2007, and founded the Context dance festival to bring contemporary dance to Russian audiences. Saint Petersburg, where she learned to dance, remains her home city and her inspiration.”

Sources: sobaka.ru Wikipedia: Diana Vishneva