Altynai Asylmuratova

Altynai Abduakhimkyzy Asylmuratova (Kazakh: Алтынай Абдуахимқызы Асылмұратова, Altynaı Abdýahımqyzy Asylmuratova; born 1 January 1961) is artistic director of the ballet company at Astana Opera,[1] and a former prima ballerina with the Kirov Ballet/Mariinsky Theatre and a guest artist all over the world.[2]

Altynai Asylmuratova
Алтынай Абдуахимқызы Асылмұратова
Born
Altynai Abduakhimkyzy Asylmuratova

(1961-01-01) January 1, 1961
Alma-Ata, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
NationalityKazakh
OccupationBallerina (1978-2000), ballet teacher (2000-present)
Years active1978-2000
Spouse(s)Konstantin Zaklinsky
ChildrenAnastasia Zaklinskaya (b. 1993)

Ballet career

Asylmuratova was born in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan into a family of dancers. The family relocated to St. Petersburg so Asylmuratova could attend the Vaganova Choreographic Institute. After graduation from the class of Inna Zubkovskaya, she joined the Kirov Ballet in 1978. After four years in the corps de ballet, she was promoted to principal dancer in 1982.

Asylmuratova became if anything more popular in Western theaters than her "home" theater due to her frequent guest appearances abroad, including Roland Petit's company. She was much admired both for her looks and the beauty of her dancing. Her repertoire included all the classical ballet rôles in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Don Quixote, and La Bayadère, Mikhail Fokine pieces such as The Firebird and Les Sylphides, as well as modern classics like Romeo and Juliet, works by choreographer George Balanchine and Roland Petit. She is married to fellow Mariinsky dancer Konstantin Zaklinsky and together they have a daughter, Anastasia Zaklinskaya (born 1993), who is now a dancer in the Astana Opera. Her most frequent ballet partner was Farukh Ruzimatov.

Videos of her dancing in Le Corsaire, La Bayadère, Les Sylphides, and The Sleeping Beauty are available. In addition, Asylmuratova was the subject of a 1982 documentary Backstage at the Kirov which followed her as she prepared to dance the lead in Swan Lake.

In 2000 she was appointed artistic director of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. She retired from dancing soon afterwards, to concentrate all her energy on the Vaganova Academy. In 2013 Asylmuratova was forced to resign from her position at the Vaganova, as the new rector, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, has been appointed by the Ministry of Culture.[3] Since 2015 Asylmuratova is the artistic director of the ballet at Astana Opera, Kazakhstan. In 2016 Nursultan Nazarbaev installed her as the rector of the Kazakhstan Academy of Choreography.[4][5]

References
  1. "Театр оперы и балета «Астана Опера»". astanaopera.kz. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  2. Taylor, Jeffery (6 April 2003). "Altynai Asylmuratova and the Vaganova Academy". Ballet Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-10-05. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  3. Mackrell, Judith (2013-10-29). "Fired Bolshoi dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze gets controversial new job". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
  4. "Распоряжением Главы государства Асылмуратова Алтынай Абдуахимовна назначена ректором Казахской национальной академии хореографии — Официальный сайт Президента Республики Казахстан". www.akorda.kz. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  5. "Nursultan Nazarbayev opened Choreography Academy in Astana - Новости Казахстана - свежие, актуальные, последние новости об о всем". www.kazpravda.kz (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-07-25.


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