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August 20, 1999
When the Bolshoi Ballet came to London in July 1999 after a long absence, many of its dancers were completely unknown. One of the up-and-coming artists making a favorable impression during that generally succesful season at the London Coliseum was Svetlana Lunkina.
Lunkina as Kitri in Don Quixote (Copyright Marc Haegeman -1999).
Born in Moscow in 1979, Svetlana Lunkina first learned folk dancing before entering the Moscow Choreographic Academy. She joined the Bolshoi Ballet upon graduation in 1997. Already in her first year Lunkina was selected to dance Giselle in the new production by the Bolshoi's director Vladimir Vasiliev.
Coached by the great Ekaterina Maximova, Lunkina holds high hopes for the Bolshoi Ballet. In London, her appearance as Giselle and her debut as Kitri in Don Quixote, on her 20th birthday, undoubtedly showed her as an artist of real promise.
A softly radiant personality with a physique that displays easy grace and fragility providing dancing that is notably unforced and gentle, Svetlana Lunkina impresses above all by her fine dramatic abilities. Her characters, established with winning tenderness, are already remarkably worked out. With proper care and time Lunkina may develop into one of the Bolshoi Ballet's great ballerinas of the next century.--Marc Haegeman
