Altynai Asylmuratova

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Altynai Asylmuratova (born 1961) was a leading ballerina with the Kirov Ballet/Mariinsky Theatre and a guest artist all over the world. Asylmuratova was born in Alma-Ata, Kazakstan, and after graduation from the Vaganova Choreographic Institute she joined the Kirov Ballet in 1978. After four years in the corps de ballet, she was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1982.

Asylmuratova became if anything more popular in Western theaters than her "home" theater due to her frequent guest appearances abroad, including Roland Petit's company. She was much admired both for her looks and the beauty of her dancing. Her ballet style melded the best of both worlds: it had the purity and aristocracy traditionally associated with the Mariinsky Ballet, but, like most "modern" Mariinsky ballerinas, she was also extremely flexible and long-limbed. Her repertoire included all the classical ballet roles in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty Ballet, Giselle, Don Quixote (ballet) and La Bayadere, Mikhail Fokine pieces such as Firebird and Les Sylphides, as well as modern classics like Romeo and Juliet, works by choreographer George Balanchine and Roland Petit. She is married to fellow Mariinsky dancer Konstantin Zaklinsky, but her most frequent partner was Farouk Ruzimatov.

Videos of her dancing in Le Corsaire, La Bayadere, Les Sylphides, and Sleeping Beauty are available. In addition, Asylmuratova was the subject of a 1982 documentary "Backstage at the Kirov" which followed her as she prepared to dance the lead in Swan Lake.

In 2000 she was appointed Artistic Director of the Vaganova Choreographic Institute. She retired from dancing soon afterwards, to concentrate all her energy on the Vaganova Academy.