Irina Baronova was born in Russia in 1919, but she and her parents were soon forced to flee to Romania. They moved to Paris to foster Irina's talent for ballet and soon she was part of Colonel de Basil's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She later appeared with American Ballet Theatre, as a guest ballerina with other companies, on Broadway and in films. She gave mime classes and masterclasses for the teacher training course at the Royal Academy of Dance, for which she has also acted as a guest teacher in seminars all over the world.Irina is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Dance, of which she is also a vice president, and president of the Guild of Licentiates. Patron of the Australian Ballet School, she holds the prestigious Nijinsky Medal, and an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from the North Carolina School of the Arts. In 1996 she received the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award from the Royal Academy of Dance for her outstanding services to ballet. She was also awarded the Lucia Chase Fellowship by American Ballet Theatre.Irina has two daughters and a son, six grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. She now lives in the idyllic hinterland of Byron Bay, New South Wales.
