Nina Menovshchikova

Born Aug. 8, 1934, in Perm’. Soviet ballerina. People’s Artist of the USSR (1973).

Upon graduating from the Perm’ Choreographic School, Menovshchikova was accepted into the company of the Perm’ Theater of Opera and Ballet in 1953. Since 1956 she has been a soloist of the Sverdlovsk Theater of Opera and Ballet. Menovshchikova combines a brilliant technique with outstanding dramatic abili-ties and stage charm. Her dancing is marked by purity of line, fragility, and elegance. Among the various roles in her repertoire are Odette-Odile, Aurora, and Masha in Tchaikovsky’s SwanLake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker; the title role in Adam’s Giselle; Kitri in Minkus’ Don Quixote; Solvejg in Peer Gynt, to music by Grieg; Aegina in Khachaturian’s Spartacus; and Tania in Ziv’s First Love. Menovshchikova created the roles lurovskii’s lanko the Musician (1961).