Bubusara Beyshenalieva

Bubusara Beyshenalieva was a well-known great Kyrgyzstani ballet dancer. She received titles and awards such as Honored Artist of the Kirghiz SSR (1947), People’s Artist of the Kirghiz SSR (1954) and People’s Artist of the USSR (1958). Bubusara Beyshenalieva was born in 1926, in Tash-Debe of the Chui oblast. At a young age, a group of Kyrgyz children, including Beyshenalieva, were selected by choreographers from Leningrad Choreographic School. Her debut took place in 1939 at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and she graduated in 1941. Beyshenalieva became a soloist of the Kyrgyz National Opera and Ballet Theatre.

After her performance as Cholpon in the Kyrgyz ballet with the same name performance, in 1944, she became the prima ballerina of the Kyrgyz ballet. During her career Beyshenalieva represented characters such as Odette-Odile (“Swan Lake”), Juliet (“Romeo and Juliet”) and Aurora (“Sleeping Beauty”). She toured many countries and performed in palaces and many famous venues. In Kyrgyzstan, she also danced outside of these exclusive venues and chose to include performances for “ordinary” people such as shepherds and farmers in the Kyrgyz villages. Later in life, she became a ballet teacher and professor of the Kyrgyz National Ballet School. In the midst of it all, she was married, divorced and raised a son. She died in May 1973 at the age of 47 due to cancer. The name of the legendary ballerina was given to one of the streets of Bishkek, also the Kyrgyz State Institute of Arts is named after B. Beishenalieva. Even the Kyrgyz banknote of 5 som has the image of this national artist and there is a monument of Byusar Beishenalieva  on the north side of the Opera and Ballet Theatre in Bishkek next to Hyatt hotel.