13 Facts About Nina Ananiashvili

Nina Ananiashvili is a Georgian ballerina and artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia.

Nina Ananiashvili has been described by the Daily Telegraph as one of the twelve greatest ballerinas of all time, and in 2002 was named Best Ballerina of the Year by the US Dance Magazine.

Nina Ananiashvili was a sickly child and at the age of 4, her parents started her ice skating in an effort to improve her health.

Nina Ananiashvili's progress was so impressive that it drew the attention of teachers from the Moscow Choreographic Institute, who convinced her parents to allow Nina to continue her studies there.

Nina Ananiashvili graduated and entered the Bolshoi Theater in 1981.

At the Bolshoi Theatre, Nina Ananiashvili was taught by two of the greatest teachers in the Soviet Union, Raisa Struchkova and Marina Semenova.

In subsequent years, Nina Ananiashvili became an international ballet superstar.

Nina Ananiashvili was permitted to accept guest performances outside the Soviet Union since 1986 due to the policies of Mikhail Gorbachev.

Nina Ananiashvili performed well in several competitions: in 1980 she won the Gold Medal in the junior group of the 10th International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria; in 1981 she and Andris Liepa won Grand Prix in the junior group of the 4th International Ballet Competition in Moscow.

Nina Ananiashvili became a principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre in 1993, and in 1999 she joined the Houston Ballet with that same rank.

Nina Ananiashvili made her debut with the Boston Ballet in that company's Russian-American production of Swan Lake.

Nina Ananiashvili agreed and left Russia, to move back to Tbilisi.

Nina Ananiashvili was married, in 1988, to Grigol Vashadze, a Georgian diplomat.