Ludmila
Semenyaka

Jury member of Benois de la Danse

TThe Russian dancer Ludmila Semenyaka hails from St. Petersburg, where she received her classical dance training at the Vaganova Ballet Academy. After graduation she became part of the Kirov Вallet, now known as Mariinsky Theater. She successfully participated in the International ballet competitions in Moscow (1969) and in Varna as well as the Allusions competition (1972).

In 1972 Miss Semenyaka was invited to the Bolshoi Theater by choreographer, Yuri Grigorovich.

Her brilliant career began as Odette/Odille in “Swan Lake“. She emerged as an international star. Soon after, Ludmila Semenyaka began dancing the best classical roles: Giselle, Sylphide, Aurora (“Sleeping Beauty“), Kitri (“Don Quixote“), Nikiya (“La Bayadere“), Marie(“Nutcracker“), Raymonda. Her performances in the contemporary repertoire were also very successful: she dansed Frygia (“Spartacus“), Shirin („Legende of Love”), Katerina („The Stone Flower”), Anastasia („Ivan The Terrible”), Juliet („Romeo and Juliet”), Valentina („Angara”) and Rita („The Golden Age”). In many of her roles Ludmila Semenyaka was joined by her instructor and maitre de ballet, Galina Ulanova.

In 1976 Semenyaka won the first prize in the International Вallet competition in Tokyo as well as the Anna Pavlova Award in Paris and the Аward of the newspaper, Evening Standard.

In 1977, she received Russia's national Аward for the main role in the ballet “Angara” by Andrei Echpai/ Yuri Grigorovich. Together with the Bolshoi Вallet and as an invited guest star, she went on many guest performance tours throughout Europe, the United States, South America and Japan. Her partners were Michael Lavrovsky, Michael Baryschnikov, Irek Mukhamedov, Julio Bocca, Loran Ilaire (please check the spelling of his name) and Farukh Rusimatov. Her extensive concert repertoire includes pieces of Michael Fokine, Yuri Grigorovich, George Balanchine, Leonid Jakobson, Roland Petit, Oleg Vinogradov, Kenneth McMillan. Miss Semenyaka also danced with the English National Ballet and the Scottish National Ballet. She appeared as a performer in films such as “Ludmila Semenyaka dances,“ „The Portrait of a Dancer,” and has functioned as a jury member in many international ballet competitions.

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