The World Of Ballet

The ballerinas of the month are: Wendy Whelan (New York City Ballet), Maria Alexandrova (Bolshoi Ballet), Galina Stepanenko (Bolshoi Ballet), Merrill Ashley (New York City Ballet)

#1. Wendy Whelan was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where at the age of three she began taking dance classes with Virginia Wooton, a local teacher. At age eight she performed as a mouse with the Louisville Ballet in its annual production of The Nutcracker. Joining the Louisville Ballet Academy that year, she began intense professional ballet training. In 1981 she received a scholarship to the summer course at the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet, and a year later, became a full-time student there. In 1984 she danced as an apprentice with New York City Ballet and became a member of the corps de ballet in January 1986. She was promoted to the rank of Soloist during the 1989 spring season and to the rank of Principal in the 1991 spring season. Repertoire included principal roles in ballets such as George Balanchine's Agon, Allegro Brillante, Apollo, Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (4th Movement), Chaconne, Concerto Barocco, "Rubies" and "Diamonds" from Jewels, Divertimento no. 15, Episodes, The Four Temperaments, Liebeslieder Walzer, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Titania & Divertissement), The Nutcracker (Sugarplum Fairy and Dewdrop), Orpheus, La Sonnambula, Stars and Stripes, Swan Lake, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Symphony in C, Symphony in Three Movements, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto no. 2, Tchaikovsky Suite no. 3 (Theme and Variations), Union Jack and Walpurgisnacht Ballet. Principal roles in Jerome Robbins' The Cage, Dances at a Gathering, The Four Seasons, The Goldberg Variations, In G Major and In Memory Of.... Also principal roles in Peter Martins' Barber Violin Concerto, Fearful Symmetries, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and in William Forsythe's Behind the China Dogs and Herman Scherman. #2. Galina Stepanenko was born in Moscow in 1966. She graduated from the Moscow Ballet School (class of Sofia Golovkina) and joined the Moscow Classical Ballet where she danced from 1984-1988. In 1988 she joined the Stanislavsky Ballet and two years later she was invited to become a member of the Bolshoi Ballet. Her repertoire included Swan Lake (Odette-Odile), La Bayadere (Nikiya and Gamzatti), Don Quixote (Kitri), Le Corsaire (Medora), Spartacus (Aegina) and title roles in Giselle, Raymonda, La Sylphide and Anyuta. Awards:The Leningrad Choreography Prize at the Competition of Russian Ballet Artists (1984). The Benois de la Dance prize (1995). The Danza-Danza Magazine prize (1995). People's Artist of Russia. #3.Maria Alexandrova was born in Moscow in 1978. In 1997 she graduated from the Moscow Academic School of Choreography (class of Prof. S. Golovkina) and the same year she joined the Bolshoi Ballet company where she has worked with famous Marina Semyonova and Tatiana Golikova. Maria Alexandrova is distinguished by her beautiful lines, artistic skills and unique technique. Her repertoire included Ramze (Pharaoh's Daughter), title role (La Sylphide), Mekhmene Banu (Legend of Love), Myrtha (Giselle), Kitri and Street Dancer (Don Quixote), Queen of the Ball (A Fantasy on Casanova Theme), solo parts in Dreams about Japan, Symphony in C, The Sleeping Beauty, La Bayadere, Romeo and Juliet, Chopiniana, The Taming of the Shrew. Awards:Golden Prize at the VIII International Ballet Competition In Moscow (1997). #4. Merrill Ashley was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1950. She studied at the School of American Ballet and joined the New York City Ballet in 1967. She was appointed soloist in 1974 and principal in 1977. One of the last ballerinas to be trained by Balanchine. Known for her brilliant, dynamic allegro, precision, and musicality. Between 1969 and 1973 she toured the US with a small company headed by d'Amboise and between 1980 and 1981 she was director and dancer with her own group, Merrill Ashely and Dancers. She retired from the stage in 1997, setting a record as the dancer with longest career at NYCB. Balanchine created two showcase roles for her in Ballo della Regina (1977) and Ballade (1980). He also revived Four Temperaments and Square Dance especially for her in 1976.Data: Ballerina Gallery Records.