Raisa Stepanovna Struchkova (russian: Раиса Степановна Стручкова) (5 October 19252 May 2005) was a Russian dancer and

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significan ...

Biography

Struchkova was born on 5 October 1925 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

to a factory worker. She studied at the Moscow Ballet School, her teacher was

Elizaveta Gerdt Elizaveta Pavlovna Gerdt (russian: Елизавета Павловна Гердт; – 6 November 1975) was a Russian dancer and teacher whose career links the Russian imperial and Soviet schools of classical dance. A daughter of celebrated ...

. In 1944, she graduated from

Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it came to internatio ...

school and became its member the same year. Two years later she appeared in the ballet ''

La fille mal gardée LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' where she danced the principal role of ''Lise'' which became her first major role. Even though that previous ballet dancers, as of 1945, did ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'', she perfected it in 1947 by being ''Cinderella'' herself. Unlike other famous female ballet dancers of that time like

Galina Ulanova Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova (russian: Галина Сергеевна Уланова, ; 21 March 1998) was a Russian ballet dancer. She is frequently cited as being one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. Biography Ulanova was born ...

and

Maya Plisetskaya Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya (russian: link=no, Майя Михайловна Плисецкая; 20 November 1925 – 2 May 2015) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, choreographer, ballet director, and actress. In post-Soviet times, she he ...

she didn't become an international star, but the ''Cinderella'' role made her famous nationwide. In 1949 she starred as ''Dawn'' in ''

Coppélia ''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Éti ...

'' and the same year played a role of ''Parasha'' in . Throughout her career she danced as a leading role in such ballets as ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...

'', ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

'', ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'', '' the Sleeping Beauty'', ''

the Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

'', and many, many others. Later on, she became a ballet

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

in 1962 at the State Theatrical Institute of the Arts and in 1978 became ballet coach at Bolshoi. She was a founder of the magazine ''Soviet Ballet'', which became ''

Ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

'' after 1992, and worked there as an editor from 1981 to 1995. She died in Moscow on 2 May 2005 at the age of 79.

References

1925 births 2005 deaths Soviet ballerinas Dancers from Moscow Burials at Vvedenskoye Cemetery Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour People's Artists of the USSR People's Artists of the RSFSR Honored Artists of the RSFSR Moscow State Academy of Choreography alumni {{Russia-bio-stub