Biography
Ekaterina Shchelkanova, also credited as Ekaterina Chtchelkanova, is a Russian ballerina, singer and actress. Born on 2 May 1970 in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), she trained at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet and joined the Kirov Ballet before defecting to the United States during a 1992 tour. She later danced with American Ballet Theatre from 1995 to 2001.
To film audiences she is known for her role as the Hungarian prisoner Katalin Helinski, nicknamed Hunyak, in the musical Chicago (2002). She also appeared as the Swan Lake Soloist in Center Stage (2000) and as Darya in The End of Silence (2006). In 2010 she founded the Open World Dance Foundation.
