Alina Cojocaru

Born in Bucharest, Alina trained in Kiev for seven years before joining the Royal Ballet School in 1997. Upon completion of her training, six months later, she returned to Kiev, to join the company as a Principal dancer. A year later she joined the Royal Ballet Company (november 1999) and at the end of the season she was promoted to Soloist. On 17 April 2001 Sir Anthony Dowell promoted Alina to the rank of Principal dancer after her performance of Giselle. Alina joined the English National Ballet in September 2013, as a Leading Principal Dancer and worked with the company until 2020. While a member of ENB she continues to perform as a Guest artist with companies worldwide, and is a permanent guest with the Hamburg Ballet. Alina has Organized Galas in Romania and in London (Hospice of Hope) over the last few years. In February 2012 Alina premiered her Alina Cojocaru – Dream Project, in Tokyo, Japan, which she directed and staged, while performing along side friends and colleagues from the Tokyo Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, ENB and Royal Ballet. Alina’s second Dream Project took place in July 2014 and the 3^rd one in February 2020. In 2015 Alina presented a charity Gala at the Lincoln Center NY. In February 2020 Alina produced Alina at Sadlers Wells Theatre.

Her repertoire includes:

Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Princess Aurora and Princess Florine in Sleeeping Beauty, Julie in Liliom, Marguerite Gautier in Lady of the Camellias, Vera and Natalya in A Month in the Country, Kitri in Don Quixote, Olga and Tatiana in Onegin, Cinderella, The Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara in Nutcracker, Titania in Dream, Titania and Hippolyta in a Midsummer nights dream, Ballerina in Etudes, Nikiya in Bayadere, Diamonds in Jewels, Marguerite in Marguerite and Armand, Symphonic Variations, Mary Vetsera in Mayerling, Manon, La Sylphide, In the Night, Las Hermanas, Swanilda in Coppelia, Nina in Seagull, Scenes de Ballet, Gong, Masquerade, Polyphonia, Symphony in C, Chloe in Daphnis and Chloe, Lise in La Fille Mal Gardee, Student in The Lesson, Duo Concertant, The Leaves Are Fading, Other Dances, Voices of Spring, Beyond Bach, Tombeaux, Ondine, The Virtiginous Thrill Of Exatitude, Fest Polonaise, Stars and Stripes, Raymonda act 3, Flames of Paris, Medora in Le Corsaire, Flower Festival, Napoli act 3, Grand Pas Classique, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Mussorgsky Waltz, Dances at a Gathering, Dying Swan, Rushes, Two Footnotes, Chroma, Bird as a Prophet, No Man’s Land, Sylvie in In the Middle Somewhat Elevated, Spring and Fall, Approximate Sonata, Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Mahler 5^th symphony and many more.

Created Roles includes:

Musketeer and Valse (Rubina Alla Davidovna), Swanilda in Anatolyi Shekera’s Coppelia, Ad infinitum (Vanessa Fenton), There Where She loved (Christopher Wheeldon), This House will Burn (Ashley Page), Les Saisons (David Bintley), Two Footnotes, Bird as a Prophet, Rushes (Kim Brandstrup), Engram and Chroma (Wayne McGregor), Les Lutins, La Sylphide, Romeo and Juliet  (Johan Kobborg), Julie in Liliom, Laura Rose in The Glass Menagerie (John Neumeier), 24 Preludes (Alexei Ratmansky), Solveig in Peer Gynt (John Neumeier), Giselle in Akram Khan’s Giselle, Second Breath (Russell Maliphant), Lacuna and Journey (Juliano Nunes).

Prizes and awards includes: 

• Danza&Danza Award, Dancer of the year (2019)
• Critics’ Circle Dance Award Best female dancer (2018)
• Critics’ Circle Dance Award for Outstanding Classical Performance for her role as Giselle in Akram Khan’s Giselle (2018)
• Critics’ Circle Dance Award for Outstanding female classical performance Aurora in Sleeping Beauty (2017)
• Dance for You Magazine Award, Best dancer 2014  for her roles as Juliet and Giselle by John Neumeier (2014)
• Taglioni-European Ballet Award (2014 Best female dancer), German Dance critics award (2012 Dancer of the year),  Benois De la Dance (2012 Best female dancer, (Liliom)), “Ballerina of the Decade” Award (Moscow 2010),  VIP Romanian music and performing arts Award (2010). The Nijinsky Award (2004 Best female Dancer). Benois De la Dance (2004 Best female dancer, (Giselle)), 1 Internationaler Movimentos Tanz Preis (2004 Best female dancer), Nagoya International Ballet Competition (Gold Medal), Prix De Lausanne (1997 Winner), April 2002 she was given by the president of Romania Ion Iliescu, the medal of Cavaler of Romania (Ordinul national “Pentru Merit”in gradul de cavaler).

Video, TV and live relays include: 

Manon, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella 2020, Kennedy Center Awards 2012, Swan Lake, Cinderella, Nutcracker, Onegin, Daphnis and Chloe, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, The South Bank Show, The Dream, Mime Matters, Don Quixote and pas de deux in various galas. Faces, Between the Rooms and Kiev films by Kim Branstrup.