Natalya Lushina-Zeiger brings a rich classical legacy as well as delicacy and discipline to her American ballet classes and workshops. Enrolled in Moscow’s fabled Bolshoi Ballet Academy (now the Moscow Academic Choreographic School of the Bolshoi Theatre) at age 10; she joined the famed Bolshoi Ballet, under the direction of celebrated dancer and choreographer Yuri Grigorovich, at age 18. Here she studied with Maria Semyonova. As a dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet company, respected for her lyrical refinement and classical lines, Natalya performed in The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, Raymonda, The Golden Age, Ivan the Terrible, Giselle, Don Quixote, Paquita, The Stone Flower, Spartacus, Carmen, and the sensual Legend of Love, one of Grigorovich’s first choreographic works. During this period, Natalya worked with internationally renowned choreographers Roland Petit, Mikhail Lavrovsky, and Vladimir Vasiliev. With the Bolshoi Company, she traveled to 36 countries, including Japan, the United States, Australia, and many countries in Europe.

Natalya earned a Master’s degree as a teacher from the famous Bolshoi Ballet Academy.

After coming to the United States in 1994, Natalya has been teaching in some of the most respected ballet institutions: The Rock School for Dance Education and the Metropolitan Ballet Academy, and she has conducted master classes throughout the country. Here she has taught ballet, pointe, and partnering classes and coached and staged ballets for the Academy’s pre-professional company. Also, she has staged many classical ballets such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Raymonda, Paquita, The Nutcracker, Chopeniana, Giselle, Le Corsaire, and Coppelia.

Throughout the years, Natalya has been coaching students for international ballet competitions such as the Youth American Grand Prix, Moscow International Ballet Competition (IBC), Varna IBC, and Jackson IBC. Many of her students have won Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals in YAGP pre-competitive, junior, and senior divisions, landing them prestigious positions in companies such as American Ballet Theater, San Francisco Ballet, NYC Ballet, Houston Ballet, Royal Ballet in London, Finnish Ballet Company, Dresden Ballet Company, and many more. Since 2005, Natalya has been an official judge for the Youth American Grand Prix competition.

Gracious when responding to questions about her vocational passion and commitment, Natalya explains, “The ballet is a language without language. It’s a match of music and movement and a story that stirs the emotions.” Disinclined to speak about herself personally, she does so only to elucidate the profound emotions that the best performances can evoke. “When I was 9,” she reveals, “I saw Mikhail Lavrovsky perform the role of Count Albrecht in Giselle. When he collapsed [because the wilis wanted to punish him for his infidelity to the trusting peasant girl, Giselle], I was so caught up in the story that I really believed Albrecht, or maybe Lavrovsky, had died of a heart attack. I screamed and screamed, begging my mother to get help. This is when I knew that I wanted to be a dancer and to be part of that magical world.”

Info and images provided by Natalya Lushina-Zeiger