Danilo Lo Monaco

Biography

Danilo Lo Monaco was born in Palermo and graduated from Milan’s prestigious Accademia Teatro alla Scala, gaining a thorough classical grounding and refined Italian stage style. After a brief engagement with the La Scala company, he joined the Czech National Ballet in 2016; his musicality and strong technique brought rapid promotions to demi-soloist in 2021 and to soloist in 2022.

His signature role remains the title hero of Onegin by John Cranko, in which he fuses psychological depth with virtuoso partnering. In the classical canon he also dances Rothbart (and occasionally the Prince) in Swan Lake, Carabosse and the Prince of the North in Márcia Haydée’s The Sleeping Beauty, Count Paris and the King of the Carnival in Romeo and Juliet, the Oriental Dance in The Nutcracker – A Christmas Carol and the Wolf in Michael Corder’s The Snow Queen. A milestone came in February 2025, when he took on the title role of Des Grieux in the Czech premiere of Kenneth MacMillan’s L’Histoire de Manon—a coveted leading part that confirmed his standing as one of the company’s principal dramatists.

His contemporary repertory is equally varied, ranging from William Forsythe’s In the Middle Somewhat Elevated and The Second Detail, through Jiří Kylián’s Bella Figura, Petite Mort and Six Dances, Christian Spuck’s Leonce & Lena, Mauro Bigonzetti’s Kafka: The Trial, Cayetano Soto’s Prelude und Liebestod, Marco Goecke’s Fly Paper Bird, Sharon Eyal’s solo Bill to Glen Tetley’s The Rite of Spring (Timeless).

Danilo appears regularly at international galas—Salzburg International Ballet Gala, Dancing Italy Gala, Sfera d’oro per la danza, Brno International Ballet Gala and many others. In 2019 he danced Douglas Lee’s Mask Duet with principal ballerina Nikola Márová at the Velvet Ballet Gala in Prague’s Estates Theatre, and in 2024 he was named Dancer of the Year at the ApuliArte International Awards.

Contemporary & Neoclassical Repertoire

• bpm – Artza (Eyal Dadon)

• bpm – Bill (Sharon Eyal)

• bpm – Bohemian Gravity (Mário Radačovský)

• Beyond Vibrations – Moving Rooms (Krzysztof Pastor)

• Beyond Vibrations – Fly Paper Bird (Marco Goecke)

• Beyond Vibrations – Frank Bridge Variations (Hans van Manen)

• Forsythe / Clug / McGregor – The Second Detail (William Forsythe)

• Forsythe / Clug / McGregor – Eden | Eden (William Forsythe)

• Kafka: The Trial – Lawyer & Painter (Mauro Bigonzetti)

• Leonce & Lena – Chancellor (Christian Spuck)

• Perfect Example (Andrey Kaydanovskiy)

• Phoenix – Puppet (Douglas Lee)

• Phoenix – Prelude und Liebestod (Cayetano Soto)

• Rain (Radu Poklitaru)

• Sarkasmy – Katastrof (Eyal Dadon)

• Sarkasmy – Sarcasmen (Hans van Manen)

• Timeless – The Rite of Spring – Father (Glen Tetley)

• Scheherazade – King Shahryar & King’s Loyal Followers (Mauro Bigonzetti)

• Vertigo Pas de Deux / Holo Harmonies – Pas de deux 3 (Mauro Bigonzetti)

• Kylián – Bridges of Time – Bella Figura, Petite Mort, Six Dances (Jiří Kylián)

• Moving Still (Jiří Kylián)

• Edges of the Present (Dance Laboratory 2021) – ND Lab creation

Classical Repertoire

• La Sylphide – Gurn (Johan Kobborg)

• Swan Lake – Evil Sorcerer Rothbart (John Cranko)

• The Sleeping Beauty – Carabosse, Prince of the North (Márcia Haydée)

• Romeo and Juliet – Count Paris, King of the Carnival (John Cranko)

• The Nutcracker – A Christmas Carol – Oriental Dance, Guards, Waltz (solo) (Youri Vámos)

• Cinderella – Father (Jean-Christophe Maillot)

• The Snow Queen – Wolf (Michael Corder)

• L’Histoire de Manon – Des Grieux (Kenneth MacMillan)

• Onegin – Onegin (John Cranko)

• Coppélia – Czardas (solo pair), Wedding Dance (Ronald Hynd)