Makarova, Natalia Romanovna (1940– )

Russian ballerina. She danced with the Kirov Ballet 1959–70, then sought political asylum in the West, becoming one of the greatest international dancers of the ballet boom of the 1960s and 1970s. A dancer of exceptional musicality and heightened dramatic sense, her roles include the title role in Giselle and Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. She has also danced modern works including Jerome Robbins's Other Dances (1976), which he created for her.

She has also produced ballets, such as La Bayadère (1974), for the American Ballet Theater, and Swan Lake (1988), for the London Festival Ballet.