Lutfi Zohidova

Lutfi Zohidova (, ; 6 November 1925 10 October 1995) was a Soviet and Tajik ballet dancer.

Biography Zohidova was born in Konibodom, Tajik ASSR, and became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1957. She studied at the Dushanbe Women's Pedagogical Institute, and from 1939 until 1941 was a member of the Union of Workers Ensemble in Moscow; in the latter year she was accepted as a member of the Tajik Ballet. Her debut with the company came in La fille mal gardée by Peter Ludwig Hertel, and she performed as a soloist at the theater throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Among the most notable roles which she essayed during her career were Maria in The Fountain of Bakhchisarai by Boris Asafyev; Odette in Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; Layla in Layla and Majnun by Sergey Balasanian; and the title roles in Cinderella by Sergei Prokofiev; La Esmeralda by Cesare Pugni, and Dilbar by Alexander Lensky. She also directed the Dushanbe School of Choreography for a time. She toured with the company in June 1961, and shortly thereafter, retired from the ballet and became an instructor.

Awards and honors

Stalin Prize, 2nd class (1949) – for her portrayal of Layla in the ballet play Layla and Majnun by Sergey Balasanian People's Artist of the Tajik SSR (1949) Order of the Badge of Honour (1954) People's Artist of the USSR (1957) Order of Friendship of Peoples Order of the Red Banner of Labour