Honoured Artist of Russia, tutor of the ballet company of the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre Vera Surovtseva became a laureate of the Godenko State Prize of the Krasnoyarsk Region. The award ceremony took place on April 5; the awards for achievements in the field of culture in 2024 were presented by the Minister of Culture of the Krasnoyarsk Region Arkady Zinov.

Vera Nikolaevna was given the State Prize in the field of choreography for her participation in the preparation of the ballets Catarina ou La Fille du Bandit by Cesare Pugni, Anyuta by Valery Gavrilin, Giselle by Adolphe Adam at the Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Vera Surovtseva has been serving in the Krasnoyarsk Theatre from the day it opened. She graduated from the Saratov Choreography School in 1977; the same year, she was invited as a soloist to the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. She made her debut as Chaga in Polovtsian Dances - in that iconic production of the opera Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin that was the first one in the Theatre’s repertoire and has been its landmark show for 45 years now.

Vera has danced Sylph, Carmen, Conchita, Little Strawberry, Odette, and many more. In 1986, the ballet media called Eva performed by Surovtseva in Andrei Petrov’s ballet The Creation of the World a “real discovery.” In 2000, Vera Nikolaevna received the title of Honoured Artist of Russia.

Now, Vera Surovtseva is a tutor in the ballet company. She trained many great, gifted artists including Elena Svinko (now a soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre), Anna Kudriavtseva (winner of the Soul of Dance award), Elena Mikheyecheva. Part of the skill and soul of Vera Nikolaevna Surovtseva is present in almost every ballet performance of the Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre.