Natalia Makarova

Natalia Romanovna Makarova, born on 21 November 1940 in Leningrad in the Russian SFSR of the Soviet Union, is a Russian prima ballerina, choreographer, and Broadway performer. She auditioned for the Leningrad Choreographic School at age 12, gaining admission despite the school's typical enrollment age of nine. From 1956 to 1970, she served as a permanent member of the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, reaching prima ballerina status during the 1960s.

On 4 September 1970, while the Kirov Ballet was on tour in London, Makarova defected to the West. She subsequently established herself as a permanent guest artist with both the American Ballet Theatre in New York City and the Royal Ballet in London. Her classical repertoire centered on roles such as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake and Giselle, while she also pursued works by modern choreographers. In December 1975, she and Mikhail Baryshnikov appeared together in an episode of the BBC television series Arena. The following year, she was featured in a live American Ballet Theatre production of Swan Lake from Lincoln Center, simulcast on both PBS and NPR. When ABT artistic director Lucia Chase stepped down, Makarova and Baryshnikov both sought the position; after the company selected Baryshnikov, Makarova moved to the Royal Ballet of London.

In 1989, Makarova returned to the Kirov Ballet, reuniting with family members, former colleagues, and teachers. Her homecoming was documented in the film Makarova Returns, which she both wrote and presented. Following that performance at the Kirov, she retired from dancing, donating her shoes and costumes to the Kirov Museum. Accumulated injuries, particularly to her knees, contributed to her retirement. She has since continued to stage productions of Swan Lake, La Bayadère, and Sleeping Beauty for companies around the world.

Makarova's Broadway career spanned 1980 to 1983, with credits including the musical On Your Toes and Makarova and Company. Her performance in On Your Toes earned her the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1983, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical in 1983, and a Theatre World Special Award in 1983. That same production also brought her the Astaire Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, and the Stanislavsky Award in 1983, followed by the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical when the show transferred to London in 1984.

Among her other honors, Makarova received the Gold Medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition in 1965, the Anna Pavlova Prize in Paris in 1970, and the Dance Magazine Award in 1977. She was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1986 for Ballerina, a four-part documentary television series she conceived, wrote, and narrated for BBC London and WNET. She received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2012 and a Life Achievement Award from the jury of the Benois de la Danse in 2018. She also played Lydia Lopokova in Wooing in Absence, compiled by Patrick Garland, which was first performed at Charleston Farmhouse and subsequently at Tate Britain.

In her personal life, Makarova has been married three times, including once to a fellow ballet dancer and once to director Leonid Kvinikhidze. In 1976, she married industrialist Edward Karkar, with whom she had a son, Andrei. Karkar died on 22 December 2013 at the age of 81.