Elena Pankova is a Soviet ballerina, whose years of activity fell on the 1980s. She has performed on the stage of the Kirov and Mariinsky theaters and danced leading roles in the most famous productions.
Early biography
Elena Pankova was born in 1963 in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. She studied at the Vaganova Academy of Arts under the guidance of L. N. Safronova. After graduating from college, she worked in the troupe of the Kirov Theater, gaining experience from such famous ballerinas as O. N. Moiseeva and I. A. Kolpakov. At first, the aspiring artist was offered exclusively minor roles, and for some time she continued to be in the corps de ballet.
As a result, having shown herself well on stage, Elena earned the right to lead roles in such productions as Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Swan Lake and others. More and more critics have left rave reviews for the talented dancer. In 1989 she was entrusted with the lead role in the ballet Scottish Symphony by G. Balanchine, first performed in the Soviet Union. Since then, Pankova has become an indispensable part of the Kirov Theater onsite tours to different countries.
Further career
In the early 1990s, Elena Pankova was invited to the English National Ballet, performing on stage in the productions of Etudes, Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker and others. From 1993 to 2000, she became the prima ballerina of the Bavarian State Ballet, performing the main roles in the performances Swan Lake, Mozart, The Lady of the Camellias and others. In the early 2000s, Elena leaves the Bavarian Ballet and focuses on various entreprise.
For some time, Pankova performed at the Mariinsky Theater, playing the main role in the production of Giselle. Gradually, this part of the artist became firmly associated with the audience and critics with the main personage of the performance - Giselle. It was then that various publications started talking about the main talent of the ballerina - the ability to convey with body language all the thoughts, emotions and actions of their heroines. This made her one of the leading ballerinas of the Soviet Union.
Personal life and later work
Over the years of performances, many famous artists have become partners with Elena Pankova, including K. Zaklinsky, S. Berezhnoy, K. Acosta, N. Hubbe and others. But the main thing for the ballerina was Kirill Melnikov, with whom she performed for a long time at the Kirov Theater. Feelings flared up between them, and in the late 80s they got married.
In 2004, Pankova graduated from the Academy of Russian Ballet. Vaganova in the direction of the choreographer. Leaving performances due to her age, Elena focused on teaching novice ballerinas and staging ballet performances. She owns the performances of the ballets Le Corsaire, The Sleeping Beauty, Raymond and others, which are very popular on the world stage.
