Biography
Demi-soloist of the National Theatre Ballet
Matěj Urban was born in Prague. In 1998 he began attending Prague’s Dance Conservatory, graduating in 2006. In the 2006–2007 season he joined the National Theatre Ballet and one year later became a demi-soloist. His first big opportunities were the role of Prince Désiré in the ballet Sleeping Beauty and a solo role in the choreography Bolero by Petr Zuska, the Artistic Director of the National Theatre Ballet. National Theatre audiences can see him dancing Pas de trois in Swan Lake, in the roles of Lenski in Onegin, the Prince in The Nutcracker – A Christmas Carol and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet choreographed by Youri Vámos, the Spider and Swordfish in Jan Kodet’s Goldilocks, James in La Sylphide and Gennaro in Act III of the ballet Napoli by August Bournonville, as well as Conrad in Pas de trois from Le Corsaire within the mixed bill Ballet Mania. When it comes to modern repertoire works, he dances in Jiří Kylián’s choreographies Petite Mort and Sinfonietta, Petr Zuska’s D.M.J. 1953–1977 and BREL – VYSOTSKY – KRYL / Solo for Three. In 2004 he won third place at the international ballet competition in Brno, and a year later he took part in the Premio Roma international ballet competition, where he was awarded the first prize, and won the Prix Carpeaux in Vallenciennes, France.