Ballerina Marina Semyonova dies at 102

One of Russia’s greatest ballerinas, Marina Semyonova, has died at the age of 102 at her home in Moscow.

Born in St. Petersburg in 1908, she joined the Bolshoi in 1930 where she became their prime ballerina for two decades during the Soviet era.

She performed with the Bolshoi until 1952. Her repertoire included Odette-Odile in “Swan Lake,” as well as the title character in “Giselle”.

In 1937 her husband, Lev Karakhan, a senior Soviet diplomat, was executed as part of Josef Stalin’s purges.

After ending her dancing career, Semyonova worked as a ballet coach, teaching the next generation of dancing greats.

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