Alina Kojokary English ballerina Country: Great Britain

1. Biography of Alina Cojocaru
2. Early Career
3. Recognition at the Royal Ballet
4. Notable Roles
5. Later Career

Biography of Alina Cojocaru

Alina Cojocaru was born in Bucharest and studied in Kiev for seven years before being accepted into the Royal Ballet School in London in 1997 as a scholarship student of the Prix de Lausanne competition.

Early Career

After completing her training, Cojocaru returned to Kiev and danced with the Kiev Ballet Company for a year. During this time, her repertoire included roles such as Kitri in "Don Quixote," Aurora and Princess Florine in "Sleeping Beauty," Cinderella, Clara in "The Nutcracker," pas de deux in "Coppelia," and Hungarian dance in "Swan Lake."

Recognition at the Royal Ballet

In November 1999, Cojocaru was accepted into the Royal Ballet company and by the end of the season, she was promoted from soloist to first soloist. Her breakout performance as the lead in "Giselle" on April 17, 2001, marked her official debut as a ballerina.

Notable Roles

Cojocaru has performed leading roles in various ballets including the principal duet in Ashton's "Symphonic Variations" and Corder's "Masquerade." She has also created roles in Vanessa Fenton's "Ad infinitum," Christopher Wheeldon's "Where She Danced," Ashley Page's "This House Will Burn," and David Bintley's "The Seasons."

Some of her other notable performances at the Royal Ballet include Odette-Odile in Anthony Dowell's "Swan Lake," Juliet in Kenneth MacMillan's "Romeo and Juliet," Giselle in Peter Wright's production of "Giselle," Vera in Ashton's "A Month in the Country," Kitri in Rudolf Nureyev's "Don Quixote," Olga and Tatiana in John Cranko's "Onegin," Fairy of the Sugar Plum in Peter Wright's "The Nutcracker," Nikiya in Natalia Makarova's "La Bayadere," and the lead couple in Steven Bain's "After Bach" and Antony Tudor's "Leaves Are Fading."

Later Career

In the 2002-2003 season, Cojocaru made her debut in Mark Morris' "Gong," the role of Mary Vetsera in MacMillan's "Mayerling," Ashton's "Scenes de Ballet," Aurora in Makarova's production of "Sleeping Beauty," Bournonville's "La Sylphide," and the title role in MacMillan's "Manon."