Romanian ballet dancer
Alina Cojocaru
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Alina Cojocaru pictured taking a curtain call during a performance by the Royal Ballet
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Born
| (
1981-05-27
)
27 May 1981
(age 43)
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Occupation
| Ballet dancer
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Spouse
| Johan Kobborg
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Children
| 2
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Career
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Former groups
| The Royal Ballet
English National Ballet
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Alina Cojocaru
OBE
(born 27 May 1981) is a
Romanian
ballet dancer
. She was previously a principal dancer with
The Royal Ballet
and a lead principal with the
English National Ballet
.
[1]
[2]
Early years
[
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]
Alina Cojocaru was born and raised in
Bucharest
, Romania. She has one sister. From a young age she studied gymnastics. Later she began ballet classes, despite never having seen a live ballet.
Training
[
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]
At the age of 7 or 8 she began gymnastic classes, progressing at the age of 9 to a Bucharest ballet school which acted as a feeder for the
Romanian State Ballet
school. Later the same year she took and passed the entrance exam for the school and a few months later was chosen (with 8 other Romanian students) by the director of the
Kiev Ballet
school to take part in a student exchange.
[3]
She left her family to train at the school, and did not speak any Ukrainian. Initially, Cojocaru and the other Romanian students were taught separately, before being integrated with the other students in the third year.
The ballet school gave a public performance every six months and it was in one of these performances that Cojocaru made her debut, dancing the role of
Amor
in
Don Quixote
.
In January 1997, aged 15, she competed in the
Prix de Lausanne
international ballet competition.
[4]
There, she was awarded a six-month scholarship to train at the
Royal Ballet School
in London.
[5]
In June she won a silver medal at the Moscow Ballet Competition
[6]
and impressed the audience in
Musketeer
by Alla Rubina. She moved to London later that year to commence her training, but did not speak any English.
Professional career
[
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]
After completing her six-month training with the Royal Ballet School, Cojocaru was offered a contract to join
The Royal Ballet
as a member of the
corps de ballet
. She was also offered a contract to join the Kiev Ballet as principal. She subsequently joined Kiev Ballet in November 1998, believing she would gain greater experience as a principal dancer. She stayed for one season, dancing a variety of roles.
Whilst dancing with Kiev Ballet, Cojocaru re-applied to the Royal Ballet in London, but was only invited to audition for the corps de ballet. She attended an audition for the company whilst on leave from Kiev Ballet and was offered a contract. Doubtful of development opportunities elsewhere, she accepted the contract and joined the company in November 1999. She was subsequently promoted to principal dancer in 2001. In 2004, she received the
Prix Benois de la Danse
for her portrayal of
Cinderella
.
Cojocaru's early appearances with the company included performing in the opening gala for the refurbished
Royal Opera House
, plus appearances with the corps de ballet in the Kingdom of the Shades from
La Bayadere
, as a snowflake in
The Nutcracker
and as a doll in
Coppelia
.
One of the highlights of her career is her partnership with Danish principal dancer,
Johan Kobborg
. The partnership began in 2001 when they danced together in
Romeo and Juliet
after Cojocaru filled in for an injured
Miyako Yoshida
. Since then, Kobborg and Cojocaru's partnership has been named one of the greatest in the history of ballet, and they have danced together at Covent Garden and worldwide.
In 2012, Cojocaru became the first ballerina to receive the
Prix Benois de la Danse
twice, this time for
John Neumeier
's
Liliom
with the
Hamburg Ballet
. The lead role of
Julie
also marked the first time a full-length ballet was created around Cojocaru.
In June 2013, she announced that she and Kobborg would leave The Royal Ballet at the end of 2012/13 season. Their last performance in London was in
Mayerling
on 5 June, followed by scheduled performances on 10 and 12 July with the company in Tokyo.
[7]
In July 2013, following her departure from the Royal Ballet, Cojocaru joined the
English National Ballet
as a principal dancer. The company is directed by her former Royal Ballet colleague
Tamara Rojo
She is also a guest at the
Hamburg Ballet
.
[8]
She now split her time between London and Hamburg, where she developed a close creative relationship with
John Neumeier
.
[9]
In December 2013, she also joined the Romanian National Ballet as a principal after Kobborg became the company's artistic director. However, in 2016, actions by new leadership at the Bucharest National Opera House resulted in both Kobborg and Cojocaru resigning, triggering protests by dancers.
[10]
[11]
The new management then apparently banned them from even setting foot in the theatre.
[12]
She won the Critics' Circle National Dance Awards 2017 Outstanding Female Performance (Classical) for her portrayal of the title role in
Akram Khan
's
Giselle
.
[13]
In 2020, she performed a self-produced show,
Alina at Sadler's Wells
at the
Sadler's Wells Theatre
. The show included
Frederick Ashton
's
Marguerite and Armand
, and Tim Rushton's
Reminiscence
, a new commissioned piece, which was danced with
Johan Kobborg
.
[9]
[14]
In November 2020, the English National Ballet announced that she would be leaving the company as her contract had ended. Her final performance with the company was in January, as Clara in
The Nutcracker
.
[15]
Cojocaru was appointed an
Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire
(OBE) in the
2023 Special Honours
for services to ballet.
[16]
Injury
[
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]
In 2008, during rehearsal when an unidentified partner handled her awkwardly in a lift, Cojocaru suffered a
whiplash injury
that could have ended her career. But after surgery and months of rest, and following the rehabilitation regimen guided by Patrick Rump,
[17]
she successfully recovered and eventually returned to dancing.
[18]
On DVD
[
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]
Cojocaru's performance as Clara in
Peter Wright
's Royal Ballet production of
The Nutcracker
was taped and first telecast in the US in 2001. It is available on DVD. Her performance as Aurora in the Royal Ballet's new production of
The Sleeping Beauty
has not been telecast in the US yet, but has become available on DVD.
Her performance as
Giselle
, alongside
Johan Kobborg
as Albrecht was recorded in 2006, broadcast in England on
Boxing Day
, and released on DVD the following year.
Personal life
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]
Cojocaru is married to her former dance partner
Johan Kobborg
. The couple live in London with their two daughters, Thalia Chulpan
[19]
and Ella Armelle.
[20]
Awards
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]
References
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]
External links
[
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]
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International
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National
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Academics
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Other
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