caption birth_place name birth_date spouse image article_title birth_name occupation
'' roles at the premiere of '' cheri '' at the patrick 1980 edinburgh festival . '' bissell and galina samsova dancing the lead ussr stalingrad , soviet union galina samsova 17 march 1937 alexander -lrb- 1972-1981 -rrb- ursuliak -lrb- 1960 - ? -rrb- andré prokovsky bissell and samsova.jpg galina samsova
 galina samtsova ballet dancer
galina samsova

galina samsova -lrb- born 17 march 1937 -rrb- is a russian ballet dancer and company director , now retired .
born galina martinovna samtsova in stalingrad -lrb- now volgograd -rrb- in southwestern russia , she began ballet training at an early age .
she studied at the kiev opera ballet school with natalia verekundova and in 1956 graduated into the kiev opera ballet , where she eventually became a soloist .
in 1960 she married the canadian-ukrainian dance teacher alexander ursuliak and moved with him to canada .
the following year , 1961 , she joined the national ballet of canada in toronto , having simplified the spelling of her maiden name from samtsova to samsova .
hired as a soloist , she was soon promoted to principal dancer and was cast in leading roles in `` swan lake '' and `` giselle '' as well as in works by balanchine , tudor , and cranko .
in 1963 , samsova was visiting london when she was recommended to raymundo de larraín , nephew of the marquis de cuevas , for the title role in his lavish new production of prokofiev 's `` cinderella '' , to be choreographed by vaslav orlikovsky and presented at the international dance festival in paris .
making her western european debut in the role , which she danced almost every day for a month , samsova won the festival 's gold medal for a performance by a female dancer -lrb- rudolf nureyev won the gold medal for a male dancer -rrb- .
her lyrical interpretation of cinderella also resulted in invitations to give guest performances in many companies , including the marseille opera ballet and london festival ballet .
samsova joined london festival ballet as a guest artist in 1964 but soon became a permanent member of the company , serving as its principal ballerina for nearly a decade , until 1973 .
while there , she formed a partnership with david adams , performing in virtuosic showcases such as `` spring waters '' and the medora-ali `` pas de deux '' from `` le corsaire '' , evening-length classics such as `` swan lake '' and `` the sleeping beauty '' , and many other works .
the pair won the gold medal at il festival de la opera , madrid , for their performance of `` giselle '' .
in 1966 samsova went to johannesburg , south africa , to dance as guest star in yet another production of `` cinderella , '' staged by french choreographer françoise adret for pact/truk ballet .
the role of prince charming in this production was taken by andré prokovsky , a franco-russian dancer whom samsova had met in marseille and who would soon begin to play a large part in her life .
not only her partner on stage , he would become her second husband , after her first marriage failed .
during her later years with london festival ballet , samsova formed an acclaimed partnership with prokovsky .
they danced together in numerous works in the company repertory , creating leading roles in `` the unknown island '' -lrb- 1969 -rrb- by jack carter , in `` othello '' and `` la péri '' -lrb- both 1971 -rrb- by peter darrell , and in `` dvořák variations '' -lrb- 1970 -rrb- and `` mozartiana '' -lrb- 1973 -rrb- by ronald hynd .
samsova and prokovsky married in 1972 and left london festival ballet in 1973 to direct and perform in their own troupe .
this soon grew into the new london ballet , a classical company of fourteen dancers that toured extensively in britain and overseas with a repertory consisting mostly of newly created works .
after the company disbanded in 1977 , owing to unmeetable demands of the musicians ' union in london , samsova followed prokovsky to italy , where he had accepted the directorship of the rome opera ballet for two years .
besides dancing with that company , samsova made guest appearances with companies in france , germany , hong kong , canada , the united states , south africa , and england .
in 1978 she danced as a guest with sadler 's wells royal ballet -lrb- now called birmingham royal ballet -rrb- before joining the company as a principal and teacher two years later , in 1980 .
during her ten years with this troupe she staged the `` grand pas '' from act 2 of `` paquita '' -lrb- 1980 -rrb- and mounted , in collaboration with peter wright , a production of `` swan lake '' -lrb- 1981 -rrb- .
after retiring from the stage , samsova became the artistic director of the scottish ballet in glasgow in 1991 , succeeding its founder , peter darrell , who had died in 1987 .
samsova increased the emphasis on the classics in the repertory , mounting her own version of act 3 of `` raymonda '' -lrb- 1990 -rrb- , and introduced neoclassic works by balanchine , robert cohan , and mark baldwin , among others .
she resigned her post in 1997 .
since then , samsova , divorced from prokovsky in 1981 , has made her home once again in london , where she has been a mentor to rising young dancers .
she has also continued her career as a juror at international ballet competitions in paris , moscow , kiev , shanghai , and jackson , mississippi .
