Biography of Natalia Makarova
Natalia Makarova began her career in her native Leningrad, entering the Vaganova School at the age of thirteen where she was placed in a special experimental class condensing the nine-year program into six. After graduating in 1959, she joined the Kirov Ballet where she rapidly rose to the rank of ballerina, and won the Gold Medal in Varna in 1965.

On September 4, 1970 in London, while on tour with the Kirov, Makarova requested asylum in Britain. She joined American Ballet Theatre making her debut with the Company in Giselle in December, 1970. After that she danced many of the roles in ABT's vast repertoire -- working extensively with Tudor, Balanchine, Robbins and Tetley

                        
   
     Her association with The Royal Ballet began in 1972 and her repertoire with the company included Swan Lake, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Les Sylphides, Manon, Song of the Earth, Concerto, Cinderella, A Month in the Country, Voluntaries, Dances at a Gathering, Serenade, Elite Syncopations, Rituals, Checkmate and Les Biches. Her most recent appearance with The Royal Ballet was in MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet in January, 1989.
 
     Natalia Makarova has appeared as a guest artist with major ballet companies throughout the world including the Paris Opera Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Stuttgart Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, London Festival Ballet, Bejart's Ballet of the 20th Century, and Roland Petit's Ballets de Marseille..