Salenko was born and raised in Kiev, USSR. She has five siblings, and her parents worked in a restaurant. She started with gymnastics and folk dancing. When she was 12, her father took her to a ballet school. Though it was a late start, Salenko began to focus on ballet. In 1995, at age 14, she was invited to attend the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in St. Petersburg, but her mother believed it was too far away, so she trained at Vadim Pisarev's school in Donetsk, which is 400 miles away from Kiev. At age 15, became one of Pisarev's dance partner, and danced at his company, Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. She had an eating disorder, which led to her become very weak and injured. Pisarev's sister, who was the director of the school, fed her and took her to therapy, and she soon recovered. She graduated in 2000.
Career
Salenko became a soloist at Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theatre after she graduated. Two years later, in order to be closer to her family, she moved to Kiev Ballet as a principal dancer. After meeting her future-husband Marian Walter, Salenko later auditioned for the Berlin State Ballet, where he was based. She was initially rejected by Vladimir Malakhov, the company's director. Diana Vishneva convinced Malakhov to let Salenko to join the company. She was offered a demi-soloist contract in 2005, and became a soloist the following year. After dancing the title role in Cinderella, Salenko became a principal dancer in 2007. As a principal, she danced lead roles in many productions including Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. She originated the role of Aurora in Nacho Duato's reconstruction of The Sleeping Beauty. Her frequent partners include Walter and Daniil Simkin. Salenko first danced with The Royal Ballet's Steven McRae in galas. After McRae recommended Salenko to the company's director, Kevin O'Hare, she made her London debut as Kitri in Don Quixote. Salenko was offered a full-time contract at The Royal Ballet, but she declined it in order to let her son finish school in Germany, but she became a regular guest, and returned to dance in other productions, such as Tchaikovsky Pas de deux, The Two Pigeons and Giselle. As a guest artist, Salenko has also performed in galas and companies in Croatia, Russia, Italy, Poland, The Netherlands, Taiwan, Germany, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Salenko is married to Marian Walter, also a principal at Berlin State Ballet, whom she met at a competition. They are parents of two children. Salenko is a citizen of both Ukraine and Germany.
Filmography
The Nutcracker, Berlin State Ballet, 2014: as Clara, with Marian Walter
Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, Royal Ballet, 2015, with Steven McRae
The Sleeping Beauty, Berlin State Ballet, 2015: as Princess Aurora, with Marian Walter
