Marek Kašparovský

Character dancer ot The Czech National Ballet

Biography

Born in Prague, he refined his craft at the Prague Dance Conservatory (1994 – 2002) and broadened his horizon through a scholarship at the Palucca Schule Dresden. A 4th-place finish at the Eurovision Young Dancers in England announced his promise, and Libor Vaculík’s ballet Psycho earned him a 2004 Thalia Award long-list nomination for the role of Norman.

Seven seasons with the J. K. Tyl Theatre in Plzeň (2002 – 2009) brought a kaleidoscope of roles: the Moor and Spanish Dance in The Nutcracker, Hungarian and Spanish Dances in Swan Lake, the title anti-hero in Macbeth, a double portrait of Théo Sarapo and Marcel Cerdan in the dance-musical Edith – The Sparrow from the Suburbs, Love and the Valpurgis Night solo in Faust, the Dream Double in Little Herr Friedemann, the First Cabaret MC in Some Like It Hot, the Vizier and the Troll King in Peer Gynt and tragic Francek in Maryša. In 2008 he appeared on screen as a Russian soldier in Vladimír Drha’s film Strawberries in the English Style and guested with the Würzburg Ballet as Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

As a soloist of Prague State Opera Ballet (2009/10) he captivated audiences as the Jester and Pas de trois in Swan Lake, the Wedding Couple in Giselle and Alexey in The Sleeping Beauty – The Last Tsar’s Daughter.

He joined the Czech National Ballet in 2012 and quickly became a pillar of both classical and modern repertoire. The stage has seen him morph into the avaricious Scrooge (The Nutcracker – A Christmas Carol), the mercurial Harlequin, the scheming Doctor Coppélius and the red-bearded Mother Simone (La Fille mal gardée), while his comedic flair enlivens King of the Carnival (Romeo and Juliet) and Court Preacher / Privy Councillor (Leonce & Lena).

In contemporary works he slices space with surgical precision in Forsythe’s The Second Detail, crackles with staccato energy in Eyal’s Bill and Dadon’s Artza, and colours Clug’s Handman with darkly comic nuance. Balanchine’s crystalline Theme and Variations (Americana III) showcased his classical polish, while Kylián’s Psalm Symphony and Six Dances revealed his keen musical instinct. Ekman’s percussion-driven Cacti and Pastor’s propulsive Moving Rooms have further expanded his expressive palette.

A regular contributor to chamber programmes (Miniatury, Zuska’s galas), he continues to explore choreography’s newer edges while honouring the rigour of tradition, proving that character acting, technical finesse and infectious energy can reside comfortably in a single body—and on a single stage.

Classical Repertoire

Coppélia – Innkeeper, Dr. Coppélius (Ronald Hynd)
The Nutcracker – A Christmas Story – Old usurer Scrooge, Harlequins, Oriental Dance (Youri Vámos)
La Fille mal gardée – Mother Simone (Frederick Ashton)
Romeo and Juliet – Carnival King, Montagues (John Cranko)

Contemporary and Neoclassical Repertoire

Brel – Vysotsky – Kryl (Solo for Three) - (Petr Zuska)
bpm – Artza (Eyal Dadon), Bohemian Gravity (Yemi A.D.), Bill (Sharon Eyal & Gai Behar)
Cinderella – Four mannequins, Ball guests (Jean-Christophe Maillot)
Dance On... Handman (open stage rehearsal) - (Edward Clug)
Forsythe / Clug / McGregor – Handman (Edward Clug)
Kylián – Bridges of Time – Psalm Symphony, Six Dances (Jiří Kylián)
Leonce & Lena – Court Preacher, Councillor (Christian Spuck)
Miniatures – Dancing (ND3 "Petite Cord")
Miniatures 2015 – Dancing (ND3 – "You Will Die a Bongo-Bongo Death")
Ohad Naharin: Decadance (Ohad Naharin)
The Sun, the Moon and the Wind – Corps (Viktor Konvalinka)
Solo for the Two of Us - (Petr Zuska)
Vertigo – Rain (Ohad Naharin), Cacti (Alexander Ekman)