Zenaida Yanowsky

Zenaida Yanowsky
Zenaida Yanowsky as Odette in a 2007 Royal Ballet production of Swan Lake
Born	(1975-12-23) 23 December 1975 (age 41) Lyon, France
Nationality	Spanish
Occupation	Ballet dancer
Spouse(s)	Simon Keenlyside

Zenaida Yanowsky is a French-born Spanishballet dancer and principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London.

Yanowsky was born in Lyon, France, where her parents, Russian ballet dancer Anatol Yanowsky and Spanish ballet dancer Carmen Robles, were both dancers with the Lyon Opera Ballet. She is the sister of former Boston Ballet principal dancer Yury Yanowsky and Dutch National Ballet soloist Nadia Yanowsky. Later, the family settled in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, where her parents set up a dance school. Although Yanowsky, along with her siblings, took dance classes at her parents' school, it was not until she turned 14 that she decided to become a professional dancer.

After winning the silver medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition in 1991, she received an invitation to audition for the Paris Opera Ballet, and joined the company that year. In 1993 she won the gold medal at the Eurovision Young Dancers Competition and in 1994 the gold medal at the Jackson International Ballet Competition. In the autumn of 1994, having left the Paris Opera Ballet earlier on in the year, she joined the Royal Ballet. She was promoted to the status of Principal Dancer in 2001.

In June 2002 she performed the "Black Swan" pas de deux with Roberto Bolle at Buckingham Palace as part of the 'Prom at the Palace', an event held to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II.