She was born in Ukraine and graduated in 1981 as a professional classical and character dancer from the National Dance Academy of Belarus in Minsk. After dancing with various companies, she decided to devote herself to teaching. In 1989, she began her career as a dance teacher in Italy, moving to Palermo. Among her first students was a very young Eleonora Abbagnato.
In 1993, she was invited to join the Princess Grace Academy in Monaco, under the direction of Marika Besobrasova, further enriching her experience as a teacher. In 2005, she opened her own dance school in Genoa. On June 6, 2008, she inaugurated the Russian Ballet College, a high-level academic institution for training professional dancers, where she has served as Director.
In 2012, she was appointed Artistic Director of the International Dance Competition of Spoleto, one of the most important dance competitions in the world and the only Italian event that is part of the International Federation Ballet Competition. In 2016, she earned a degree and the title of Professor in Dance Pedagogy from the State University of Moscow. In 2018, she founded in Genoa the Institute of Advanced Choreographic Training, an institution authorized to award first-level diplomas in dance disciplines.
In August 2022, together with other dance enthusiasts, she established the Dance and Performing Arts Training Foundation ETS, where she serves as President.
She has directed numerous major dance productions. She created the choreography for the performance “The Value of a Life – A Dance Tribute to Alberto Testa”, which premiered in 2011 at the 54th Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, followed by performances in Assisi and Livorno.
In 2014, again for the Festival dei Due Mondi, she curated the legendary “Dance Marathon”, featured in the official program of the 57th edition. From 2012 to 2018, she was maître de ballet and choreographer for the Tchaikovsky Festival and the Festival of the Three Seas, with performances in Nice, Sanremo, Monte Carlo, and St. Petersburg. In 2019, as choreographer and Artistic Director, she staged The Nutcracker and Swan Lake and Other Stories at several festivals, including Estate in Garfagnana, International Mid-Summer Festival in Tagliacozzo, and the Dance Florence Festival.
In 2020, she brought to the stage Chopiniana and Dancing Gershwin at the Teatro Gian Carlo Menotti in Spoleto and the Roman Theatre in Gubbio, featuring guest appearances by La Scala principal dancers Nicoletta Manni and Timofej Andrijashenko.
In August 2022, together with four dance lovers, she established the Dance and Performing Arts Training Foundation, becoming its President. She initiated a collaboration with the Carlo Felice Opera House in Genoa and founded the Foundation’s Junior Ballet Company, which continues to perform as part of the theatre’s productions.
In September 2022, at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, she staged the show Stars of Today and Tomorrow, featuring étoile dancers from around the world. The production was a collaboration between the Carlo Felice Foundation and the Dance and Performing Arts Training Foundation. Also in collaboration with the Carlo Felice Foundation, she created a children’s dance performance “My First Debussy – La boîte à joujoux”, overseeing choreography, direction, lighting, and costumes. The show achieved great success, with 36 performances.
In January 2023, again with the Carlo Felice Theatre, she choreographed the ballroom scene in Act II of the operetta “Die Fledermaus”, followed by the choreography for Verdi’s opera “I Due Foscari”. In July 2023, she created three choreographies for the show “Rumore – A Tribute to Raffaella Carrà” at the Nervi Music Ballet Festival. Since 2023, in collaboration with the Carlo Felice Theatre, she has directed ballet scenes from operas including Andrea Chénier, Idomeneo, Madama Butterfly, and Die Liebe der Danae.
Many of her students, in addition to winning major international dance competitions, are now performing in leading opera houses and theatres around the world: Timofej Andrijashenko, principal dancer at La Scala in Milan; Federico Tosello, soloist with Introdans in Amsterdam; Vincenzio Caruana, soloist at the State Opera in Sofia (Bulgaria); Valeria Borsi, soloist performing principal roles at the National Opera Theatre of Uzbekistan; Andrea Porro, soloist at the National Theatre of Tbilisi (Georgia); Aurora Damele, soloist at the National Theatre of Varna (Bulgaria); Gabriele Fornaciari (La Scala, Milan); Valodia Mozvogoi, Iris Gurabhardi, Elena Cintelli, and Lucrezia Mancinelli (National Opera Theatre of Varna).
