Quick Facts

Born: Moscow, Russia
Trained: Moscow Choreographic Academy in Russia
The Bolshoi Ballet: 1997 - 2013
Joined as a Principal Dancer: 2014

Svetlana Lunkina is sponsored through Dancers First by Anna McCowan-Johnson and Donald K. Johnson, O.C. 

Five Things to Know

1. 1Svetlana has performed principal roles in a wide range of classical and contemporary ballets with The Bolshoi Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada and internationally. Among them are Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Onegin, Manon, La Sylphide, Anna Karenina, The Four Temperaments, Chroma and Petite Mort.
    
2. 2At just 18 years old, Svetlana was the youngest dancer in the history of The Bolshoi Ballet to perform the title role of Giselle. To date, Svetlana has appeared in five different versions of Giselle worldwide.
    
3. 3Svetlana worked extensively with influential choreographer Roland Petit, dancing the lead roles of Liza in La Dame de Pique and Esmeralda in Notre-Dame de Paris in their Bolshoi premieres. In 2008, Petit updated his ballet La Rose Malade especially for her.
    
4. 4In demand as an international guest artist, Svetlana often performs in galas, festivals and with top companies such as the Vienna State Ballet, Kirov Ballet, Paris Opéra Ballet and the National Ballet of Japan.
    
5. 5American artist Anna Gaskell photographed Svetlana for her 2013 exhibition, SVETA, in Paris and Cologne. Svetlana is also the subject of Gaskell’s short film, & Juliet, in which she rehearses the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet without a partner.

Favourite Ballets

1. 1Giselle
    
2. 2Anna Karenina
    
3. 3Chroma
    
4. 4Spartacus (Aram Khachaturian)
    
5. 5Anyuta (Vladimir Vasiliev)

Videos