Perhaps only the world first cosmic flight of Yuri Gagarin could be comparable to the achievements of the 'winged' Ulanova who opened the cosmos of the Russian classical ballet to the world in the 1950s. After that, crowned with all possible awards and titles she became a living legend of the Russian ballet.
Her most brilliant part was the part of Juliet. The famous running of Ulanova-Juliet became the symbol of eternal love.
For the first time Galina Ulanova toured in Italy as the soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre in 1951. The European audience was conquered by her dancing once and forever.
She quit the stage at the age of 50, too early for the ballerina of her level. She performed in public for the last time in 1960. It was Shopeniana ballet, with which her life on stage started and finished. However she did not leave the Bolshoi Theatre. She taught future stars of the Russian ballet. It was not only technique she taught them, but first of all she taught them the art of living, thinking, loving and forgiving. Among her students were Yekaterina Maksimova, Vladimir Vasilyev, Nina Timofeeva, Nina Semizarova, Lyudmila Semenyakova and Malika Sabirova who became the symbols of the Bolshoi Theatre.