Nina Ananiashvili (1963- )

Alluring grace, enticing mystique, personal magic, instinctive expressiveness and the technical wizardry to draw the public with her into unvoiceable passions and dreams - these qualities separate the handful of true ballerinas from the legions of mere female ballet-dancers. Now artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia, the Georgian-born, Bolshoi-trained Nina Ananiashvili is one of that tiny elite.