Alina Cojocaru OBE is a former Principal of The Royal Ballet and English National Ballet. After studying at the Royal Ballet School on a Prix de Lausanne scholarship she joined the Kiev Ballet in Ukraine as a principal dancer. Following one season with Kiev, she entered the corps of the Royal Ballet in 1999, was promoted to Soloist at the end of her first season and in April 2001 was promoted to Principal at the age of 19. With Royal Ballet Principal Johan Kobborg, she forged an iconic dance partnership, celebrated in their performances with The Royal Ballet and as guest artists around the world.
Alina left The Royal Ballet at the end of the 2012/13 season to join English National Ballet, where she performed lead roles in ballets including Akram Khan’s acclaimed reimagining of “Giselle”. Among her numerous awards are Best Female Dancer at the 2002 Critic’s Circle Awards and the 2004 and 2012 Benois de la Danse awards. Alina is a permanent Guest Artist with John Neumeier’s Hamburg Ballet and continues to dance as a Guest Artist with the world’s foremost ballet companies.