Irina Aleksandrovna Kolpakova (Russian: Ирина Александровна Колпакова; born 22 May 1933)[1][2] is a Soviet and Russian ballerina, choreographer and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1965) and Hero of Socialist Labour (1983).
Irina Kolpakova | |
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Born | Irina Aleksandrovna Kolpakova 22 May 1933 |
Occupation(s) | Ballerina, choreographer, pedagogue |
She was the prima ballerina of the Kirov State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet (now the Mariinsky Theatre) in Saint Petersburg. From 1974 to 1979, she served as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.[1]
In the 1990s, she worked for several seasons as choreographer and coach at the American Ballet Theatre in New York City. She is currently a professor of classical dance at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in Saint Petersburg and a ballet coach at American Ballet Theatre.
She is married to the noted ballet dancer Vladilen Semyonov, also a People's Artist of the USSR. They live in the Tolstoy House building in Saint Petersburg.[3]