APersonIndependent states
Bübüsara Beyshenalieva
The first great Kyrgyz ballerina (1926–1973), pictured on the 5-som note.
Bübüsara studied in Leningrad under the legendary teacher Agrippina Vaganova and made her debut at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
After dancing the title role in the Kyrgyz ballet Cholpon in 1944 she became the prima ballerina of Kyrgyz ballet, and she appeared in the 1959 screen version of Cholpon.
She later taught as a professor at the Kyrgyz national ballet school. A statue of her stands in Bishkek.
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Updated: October 3, 2026