Kateryna Kukhar

Kateryna Ihorivna Kukhar (Ukrainian: Катерина Ігорівна Кухар, born 18 January 1982, Kyiv) is a Ukrainian prima ballerina of the National Opera of Ukraine. Merited Artiste of Ukraine (since 2012). People's Artiste of Ukraine (since 2018). She started ballet lessons at the age of five. Without a qualifying round, Kateryna was invited to be part of an already established gymnastics group at the local youth center – the Palace of Pioneers.

In 1992, she entered Kyiv State Ballet School, formerly known as Kyiv Choreographic College (class of Tatiana Tayakina, People's Artiste of the USSR). After just two years of studies, Kateryna was awarded a diploma of the 2nd Ukrainian Festival of Arts «Всі ми діти твої, Україно».

In 1997, Kateryna won the prize at the International Dance Competition Prix de Lausanne and was invited to do internship in Lausanne, Switzerland.

At the age of 16, Kateryna made her first appearance as Masha in the "Nutcracker" ballet at the Bunka Kaikan Concert Hall in Japan. Valeriy Petrovich Kovtun, the choreographer who was working in Japan at that time, trusted the young ballerina to play the part.

In 1999, she graduated with high honors and distinction from Kyiv State Ballet School under the tutelage of the principal, Tatyana Alekseevna Tayakina, the People's Artiste of the USSR.

In the course of her career, Kateryna Kukhar has had support and collaboration of the following ballet teachers, People's Artistes of Ukraine and the USSR: Valery Kovtun, Lyudmila Smorgacheva, Nikolai Pryadchenko, Eleonora Steblyak, Raisa Hilko, Elvira Tarasova, Abdyev Recepmyrat.

Among Kateryna's ballet partners are Aleksandr Stoyanov, Leonid Sarafanov, Joseph Gatti, Bakhtiyar Adamjan, Eris Nezha, a principal dancer at the Paris Opéra Garnier, Quer Jérémy-Loup; a principal dancer at Teatro alla Scala, Claudio Coviello.