Ulyana Lopatkina

Ulyana Vyacheslavovna Lopatkina (Ульяна Вячеславовна Лопаткина; born 23 October 1973) is a Russian prima ballerina who performed with the Mariinsky Theatre from 1991–2017.

She studied at the Vaganova Academy with Natalia Dudinskaya.

Upon graduation Lopatkina joined the Kirov/Mariinsky Theatre Ballet in 1991, and was promoted to principal dancer in 1995.

They have a daughter, Masha, born 2002.

Lopatkina revealed details about her daily life in an interview to The Sunday Times in 2005.

She wakes up between 9am to 10am.

At the Kirov, she first attends a class with other dancers and followed this with a personal rehearsal with Ninel Kurgapkina, until the latter's death.

After a break, Lopatkina has more rehearsals or helps teaching younger dancers.

Lopatkina is a tall ballerina: she is 5 ft and wears shoes size 10.5 US (8 UK).

Lopatkina uses two pairs of shoes in each performance which are specially made for her.

Lopatkina was married to architect and writer Vladimir Kornev until their divorce in 2010.

Lopatkina did not dance during the 2016–2017 season due to injury, and her retirement from the Mariinsky was announced on the company's website on 16 June 2017.

Lopatkina excels in classic and dramatic roles.

She is a perfect example of the Russian (Kirov) school with long limbs, great strength and a classical purity of line, as well as noted musicality.

Her repertoire includes: Giselle (Giselle, Myrtha),