Alina Nanu

Biography

Alina was born in Kishinev, where she began her studies at the State Dance Conservatory of Moldova. She later continued her education at the Prague Dance Conservatory, and during her time with the school’s company, she performed internationally in countries such as Spain, Germany, and the USA. While still a student, she received recognition in several competitions, notably winning second prize at the International Ballet Competition in Brno (2009) and first prize at the International Ballet Competition in Romania (2009).

In 2010, Alina began her professional career as a member of the ballet company at the State Opera Prague. By 2011, she had been promoted to soloist, with notable roles such as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake (John Cranko), Kitri in Don Quixote (Jaroslav Slavický) for which she was nominated for the Thalia Award in 2013 and Myrtha in Giselle.

Since joining the Czech National Ballet in 2012, Alina has become one of its leading figures, and in 2015, she was promoted to first soloist. That same year, she received the Director of the National Theatre Prize for young artists under 35. She also garnered a nomination for Dance Europe’s Dancer of the Year in 2019. Alina’s career includes performances of major classical roles and contemporary works, such as Clara in The Nutcracker – A Christmas Carol (Youri Vámos), Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (John Cranko), and Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty (Márcia Haydée). She has also excelled in neoclassical and modern ballet, dancing in Americana III, Czech Ballet Symphony II, Serenade by George Balanchine, Bella Figura by Jiří Kylián, Rain by Radu Poklitaru, The Second Detail by William Forsythe, and Kafka: The Trial by Mauro Bigonzetti.

In the most recent season, Alina has starred in three premieres, as the pale princess in Viktor Konvalinka's ballet fairytale The Sun, the Moon, the Wind, as the sister in Mauro Bigonzetti's Scheherezade, as well as Manon and as Lescaut's Mistress in Kenneth's MacMillan's L'Histoire de Manon.

Alina continues to perform in prestigious international galas, representing the Czech National Ballet with distinction. She appeared as Juliette when hosting with the Finnish National Ballet and Manon with the Norwegian National Ballet. 

Classical Repertoire 

• Coppélia – Swanilda (Ronald Hynd)
• Don Quixote – Kitri (Jaroslav Slavický - Marius Petipa)
• Giselle – Myrtha, Myrtha's Attendants (Jean Coralli - Jules Perrot)
• La Bayadère – Nikiya, Gamzatti (Javier Torres - Marius Petipa)
• La Fille mal gardée – Lise (Frederick Ashton)
• La Sylphide – The Sylph (Johan Kobborg - August Bournonville)
• The Nutcracker – A Christmas Story – Clara in the dream, Clara Cratchit, Chinese Dance (Youri Vámos)
• Onegin – Tatiana (John Cranko)
• Romeo and Juliet – Juliet (John Cranko)
• The Sleeping Beauty – Princess Aurora, Lilac Fairy, Princess Florine (Márcia Haydée - Marius Petipa)
• Swan Lake – Odette/Odile, Pas de six (John Cranko)

Contemporary and Neoclassical Repertoire 

• A Streetcar Named Desire – Blanche DuBois (John Neumeier)
• Americana III (Theme and Variations) – (George Balanchine)
• Ballettissimo – I–III movements (Jürgen Rose)
• Beyond Vibrations – Frank Bridge Variations (Hans van Manen), Fly Paper Bird (Marco Goecke)
• bpm – Bill (Sharon Eyal), Artza (Eyal Dadon)
• Brel – Vysotsky – Kryl – Solo for Three (Petr Zuska)
• Cinderella – Cinderella, Stepsister (Jean-Christophe Maillot)
• Czech Ballet Symphony II – Stabat Mater, Guru (Jiří Kylián)
• Forsythe / Clug / McGregor – The Second Detail (William Forsythe),  EDEN | EDEN (Wayne McGregor)
• Holo Harmonies (Mauro Bigonzetti)
• Just the Two of Us  (Petr Zuska)
• Kafka: The Trial – Nurse (Mauro Bigonzetti)
• Kylián – Bridges of Time – Bella Figura, Petite Mort, Six Dances (Jiří Kylián)
• L’Histoire de Manon – Manon, Lescaut’s Mistress (Kenneth MacMillan)
• The Little Mermaid – The Little Mermaid (Jan Kodet)
• Leonce & Lena – Princess Lena of the Pipi Kingdom (Christian Spuck)
• Moving Still (Jiří Kylián)
• The Nutcracker and the Plush Mouse – Mother (Petr Zuska)
• Ohad Naharin: Decadance (Ohad Naharin)
• Sarcasms – Sarcasmen (Hans van Manen)
• Scheherazade – Scheherazade, Sister (Mauro Bigonzetti)
• Slavic Temperament – Aspects (Katarzyna Kozielska), Dumka (Ondřej Vinklát), Perfect Example (Andrey Kaydanovskiy)
• The Snow Queen – Snow Queen (Michael Corder)
• The Sun, the Moon and the Wind – Bledulenka (Viktor Konvalinka)
• Take me with you (Robert Bondara)
• Timeless – Serenade - Russian Girl, Waltz Girl (George Balanchine), Le sacre du printemps - Mother (Glen Tetley)
• Valmont – Marquise de Merteuil (Libor Vaculík)
• Vertigo – Rain (Radu Poklitaru), Vertigo (Mauro Bigonzetti)