Lidiia Krupenina

(married name, Grevtsova). Born Nov. 1, 1928, in Moscow. Soviet ballerina. People’s Artist of the USSR (1971).

Krupenina graduated from the Moscow Choreographic School in 1947 and was accepted into the troupe of the Novosibirsk Theater of Opera and Ballet. She has performed in both classical and Soviet ballets. Her best roles have included the Mistress of the Copper Mountain in Prokofiev’s The Stone Flower, Maria in Asaf ev’s The Fountain of Bakhchisarai, Budur in Savel’ev’s Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, Odette and Odile in Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Kitri in Minkus’ Don Quixote, Shirin in Melikov’s The Legend of Love, and the title roles in Adam’s Giselle and Pugni’s La Esmeralda. Krupenina is equally adept at lyric and dramatic roles and romantic and comic roles. Her lyric heroines are characterized by their vital and life-affirming qualities. Her dancing demonstrates the limitless possibilities of a virtuoso dance technique. Krupenina has been awarded the Order of Lenin.