After completing her training, she joined the
Bolshoi Ballet in 1988, making her debut as a soloist. Rehearsed under
Galina Ulanova and later
Marina Kondratieva, she created the leading roles in the classical repertoire and as well as those in many works by contemporary choreographers. She quickly became the Bolshoi's leading dancer, earning the title of
prima ballerina after dancing Nikiya in the 1991 production of
La Bayadère. In 2023, it was discovered via Alexei Ratmansky’s Instagram that she was writing letters to the Russian soldiers during the Russo-Ukrainian War. ==Awards==