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.

Among his signature roles are the title hero in Onegin by John Cranko and Des Grieux in Kenneth MacMillan’s L’Histoire de Manon, which he debuted in the Czech premiere in February 2025. Another milestone performance is his interpretation of Stanley Kowalski in John Neumeier’s A Streetcar Named Desire, a complex and emotionally demanding part that has become one of his most acclaimed dramatic portrayals. 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.

His contemporary repertory is equally varied, ranging from William Forsythe’s The Second Detail, 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. He also performs in Vertigo Pas de Deux / Holo Harmonies by Mauro Bigonzetti and Perfect Example by Andrey Kaydanovskiy.

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. In 2024 he appeared in Starlight International Ballet Gala in Osaka, Japan, and was named Dancer of the Year at the ApuliArte International Awards.

Classical Repertoire

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

• La Sylphide – Gurn (Johan Kobborg)

• Onegin – Onegin (John Cranko)

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

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

• The Snow Queen, The – Wolf (Michael Corder)

• Swan Lake – Evil Sorcerer Rothbart (John Cranko)

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

Contemporary & Neoclassical Repertoire

• Beyond Vibrations – Fly Paper Bird (Marco Goecke)

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

• Beyond Vibrations – Moving Rooms (Krzysztof Pastor)

• bpm – Artza (Eyal Dadon)

• bpm – Bill (Sharon Eyal, Gai Behar)

• bpm – Bohemian Gravity (Yemi A.D.)

• Cinderella – Father (Jean-Christophe Maillot)

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

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

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

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

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

• Leonce & Lena – Chancellor (Christian Spuck)

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

• Moving Still (Jiří Kylián)

• Perfect Example (Andrey Kaydanovskiy)

• Phoenix – Prelude und Liebestod (Cayetano Soto)

• Phoenix – Puppet (Douglas Lee)

• Rain (Radu Poklitaru)

• Sarkasms – Katastrof (Eyal Dadon)

• Sarkasms – Sarcasmen (Hans van Manen)

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

• A Streetcar Named Desire – Stanley Kowalski, Allan’s friend (John Neumeier)

• Timeless – The Rite of Spring (Glen Tetley)

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