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Biography
Born in Providence, Rhode Island and trained at Festival Ballet of Rhode Island and Canada’s National Ballet School, Greta Hodgkinson joined The National Ballet of Canada in 1990, where she has been a Principal Dancer since 1996. Greta retired as a Principal Dancer at the end of the 2019/20 season and assumed the position of Artist-in-Residence for the 2020/21 season, teaching and coaching the National Ballet’s next generation of dancers.
An artist acclaimed for her dazzling technical virtuosity, dramatic intensity and articulate characterization, she is the complete ballerina, par excellence. Greta has performed every leading role in the classical repertoire and her talents extend to the contemporary repertoire as well. She has had numerous roles created for her by world renowned choreographers and has worked closely with such icons as William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Glen Tetley, John Neumeier, Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne McGregor, James Kudelka and Crystal Pite.
As a guest artist, Greta has appeared with The Mariinsky Ballet, Teatro alla Scala, The Royal Ballet, The Australian Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Munich Ballet, Teatro Comunale di Firenze, Gala des Étoiles, Stars of the 21st Century and International Ballet Galas in the US, Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada. Greta was invited to tour Japan dancing Swan Lake with K-Ballet, partnered by Tetsuya Kumakawa. She also performed at The World Ballet Festival in Tokyo, with frequent partner Roberto Bolle.
Greta has graced the covers of Dance Magazine and Dance International Magazine and has been featured in various fashion publications including Vanity Fair, Lucky, W, GQ Italia, ELLE, NUVO, Flare and FASHION among others.
Greta’s film credits include a collaboration with director Moze Mossanen in the title role in the film Roxana, based on the novel by Daniel Defoe, the role of Margot Fonteyn in the Bravo! TV docudrama, Nureyev, CBC’s Romeos and Juliets and The Rings of Saturn. She also appeared in the title role in The Firebird, The Four Seasons (starring in Summer), A Dancer’s Story-50 Years of The National Ballet of Canada (dancing The Sleeping Beauty pas de deux) and as a guest star on the premiere of the Canadian comedy television series Baxter. In 2013, Greta performed Giselle in Emerging Pictures’ film, Ballet’s Greatest Hits, a ballet gala filmed and presented in over 200 cinemas throughout North America.
Greta has received two Citations from the State of Rhode Island. One of the highest honours given by the state, the Citations are in recognition of her extraordinary talents, accomplishments and outstanding contribution to arts and culture in the US. Greta was also appointed to the Order of Ontario in 2017.