LEGENDARY BALLERINA LEPESHINSKAYA DIES

Last updated: Sunday, December 21, 2008

LEGENDARY BALLERINA LEPESHINSKAYA DIES

Legendary Russian ballerina OLGA LEPESHINSKAYA has died, aged 92.

The dancer - a four-time Stalin Prize winner - was given a tribute by the country's President Dmitry Medvedev in a ceremony following her family's announcement of her death to Itar-Tass news agency.

A statement from her family on Saturday (20Dec08) reads: "She has fallen asleep never to awaken again."

Lepeshinskaya made her mark performing with the Bolshoi Ballet for 30 years during the Soviet era, which earned her the highest artistic accolade given under the Soviet rule of Joseph Stalin.

She was revered for her prima ballerina roles in ballets including The Barber of Seville, La Fille Mal Gardee, Don Quixote and Sleeping Beauty.

Lepeshinskaya went on to teach classical ballet in Moscow, Rome, Tokyo, Vienna and Munich after retiring from the stage.

A funeral will be held in Moscow on Tuesday (23Dec08) following a farewell tribute by the Bolshoi Ballet.

Source: WENN

| Sunday, December 21, 2008

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