Galina Yordanova

The late Galina Yordanova trained for nine years at Baku in the USSR and for five years with the Bolshoi Ballet where she received her teacher’s diploma in 1960. She held diplomas in Choreography and Teacher Training from the G.I.T.S. in Moscow. In 1960, Madame Yordanova was Ballet Mistress of the Varna Norodna Opera in Bulgaria where she staged a number of classics including Romeo and Juliet, Raymonda, Le Corsaire, Coppélia, Les Sylphides, Giselle and Nutcracker. She has also worked extensively with the Ballet der Deutschen Oper, Berlin and with companies in Madrid and Valencia, Spain and in Nagoya and Kyoto, Japan.

In 1980, Yordanova began to spend a portion of each year in Winnipeg, teaching at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School’s Professional Division Summer Session. Her expert teaching of the Russian style was an important component of the development of the teaching style of the school.

In 1995, she joined the artistic faculty as resident Guest Teacher. She worked extensively with the RWB dancers to prepare them for the Company’s 1987 premiere of Swan Lake, which she staged in the Russian style. In 1990, Yordanova shared her expertise and talent in the staging of the RWB’s premiere of La Bayadère, Act II, featuring members of the Company together with young artists from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.

In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the RWB School in 1996, she staged Don Quixote, with the School’s entire student body performing alongside Company members who were school graduates in the lead roles.

For the RWB’s 1999–2000 season, Galina Yordanova, along with Nina Menon, choreographed a new version of Nutcracker for the Company which premiered in Ottawa at the NAC on December 2, 1999.