[1] Kasatkina performed at the Bolshoi Theatre from 1954 to 1976 and directed the Kasatkina and Vasilyev Classical Ballet Theatre [ru] from 1977 until her death alongside her husband, Vladimir Vasilyov [ru].

Born in Moscow on 7 June 1934, Kasatkina was the daughter of engineer Dmitri Kasatkina and children's author Anna Kardachova.

She graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography as a student of Sulamith Messerer.

As a solo dancer for the Bolshoi Theatre, she performed scores such as Swan Lake, Raymonda, Cinderella, Don Quixote, The Rite of Spring, and Carmen Suite.

[2] Natalia Kasatkina died from a blood clot in Moscow on 13 March 2024, at the age of 89.