Portal:Tbilisi/Biography

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Nina Ananiashvili (also: Nino Ananiashvili, Georgian: ნინო ანანიაშვილი) (born March 28, 1963) is a Georgian ballerina.

She was born in Tbilisi, then Georgian SSR, Soviet Union. She entered the Georgia State Choreographic Institute ინ 1969. In 1976 she continued at the Moscow Choreographic Institute where her main teacher was Natalia Zolotova. In 1980, Nino made her stage debut in a school production of Coppelia. She graduated and entered the Bolshoi Ballet in 1981. In 1983 she was promoted to the rank of soloist and performed in her native Tbilisi as a professional for the first time. Eventually she rose to become a prima ballerina. She, along with Andris Liepa, was the first Soviet dancer to appear as a guest performer with the New York City Ballet in 1988 (she had danced in "Raymonda Variations", "Apollo" and "Symphony in C" there). She became a principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre in 1993, and in 1999 she joined the Houston Ballet in same rank. (more...)