Alla Osipenko is one of the most celebrated Soviet Ballerinas. Osipenko studied at the Leningrad Choreographic School (now Vaganova Academy) in the class of Agrippina Vaganova

Agrippina Vaganova

Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova was an outstanding Russian ballet teacher who developed the Vaganova method - the technique which derived from the teaching methods of the old Imperial Ballet School under the Premier Maître de Ballet Marius Petipa throughout the mid to late 19th century, though...

.

Upon graduation Alla Osipenko joined the Kirov Ballet (now the Mariinsky Ballet

Mariinsky Ballet

The Mariinsky Ballet is a classical ballet company based at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's leading ballet companies...

) in 1950, and was promoted to prima ballerina in 1954. Her repertoire included: Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault or Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm is a classic fairytale involving a beautiful princess, enchantment, and a handsome prince...

, Odette-Odile in Swan Lake

Swan Lake

Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...

, Gamzatti in La Bayadere

La Bayadère

La Bayadère is a ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by French choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. La Bayadère was first performed by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on...

, Waltz and Mazurka in Chopeniana, Masha in Nutcracker

Nutcracker

A nutcracker is a mechanical device for cracking nuts. Usually they work on the principle of moments as described in Archimedes' analysis of the lever...

, Frigia in Spartak, the Mistress of the Copper Mountain in the Stone Flower (1957), Mekhmene-Banu in the Legend of Love (1961).

Osipenko left the Kirov in 1971.

External links

• Alla Osipenko on www.ballerinagallery.com
• Short biography on the website of A. Sokurov
• Alla Osipenko. Dance as a way of life Exhibition in the St. Petersburg Museum of Teahtre and Music