Career Highlights

     Besides Royal Ballet, she also worked for other well-known ballet houses such as the Ballet of the Paris Opera, The National Ballet of Canada, and the Ballet of La Scala in Milan. She was most known in the classical roles in Swan Lake and Gisselle. She acted in many other memorable ballets such as Romeo and Juliet, Song of the Earth, and Sleeping Beauty.  She won the Gold Medal in Varna in 1965 and the Anna Pavlova Award in 1970. Makarova made her Broadway debut in 1983's "On Your Toes," for which she won a Tony Award. She took on the same role for the British stage the following year and was honored with a Laurence Olivier Award (1985). Makarova concentrated on her acting career after reconnecting with the Kirov for numerous performances in the late 1980s. . She actively worked in ballet from the 1950s till her retirement in 1989. She stopped dancing because of injuries, particularly to her knees. After she retired from dancing, she donated her shoes and costumes to the Kirov Museum. Makarova now choreographs ballets such as Swan Lake, La Bayadère, and Sleeping Beauty for companies all over the world. Makarova now choreographs ballets such as Swan Lake, La Bayadère, and Sleeping Beauty for companies all over the world.

MAKAROVA IN THE KIROV’S
SWAN LAKE, SEPTEMBER 1964 WAYNE J. SHILKRET, COURTESY DM ARCHIVES

A rare clip of Natalia Makarova and Ivan Nagy dancing the White Swan Pas De Deux from "Swan Lake"