Biography
Hailed by L’Humanité as “one of the great stars of our time,” Romanian-born
Magdalena Popa brings her rich experience as an international prima
ballerina and her invaluable teaching knowledge to her position of
Principal Artistic Coach with The National Ballet of Canada.
As a ballerina, Ms. Popa danced lead roles in virtually all
of the major classical ballets throughout her lengthy performing career,
including Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake,
The Nutcracker, Giselle and Les Sylphides, as well as a
contemporary repertoire including Daphnis and Chloë, Carmen, The Miraculous Mandarin,
Tristan and Isolde, Spartacus and Soleil des Eaux among others. She also
performed with many of the world’s foremost ballet companies, including the
Bolshoi and Kirov Ballets, London Festival Ballet, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo,
Les Grands Ballets Classique de France and Ballet Théâtre Contemporain de
France. In 1959, she was awarded a Silver Medal at the International Ballet Festival
in Vienna, a Silver Medal at the First
International Dance Competition in Varna, Bulgaria in 1964 and in 1965, the Gold Star at
the International Dance Festival in Paris.
In 1982, Ms. Popa joined the National Ballet as Ballet
Mistress and was appointed Principal Ballet Mistress in 1984. She is in great
demand as a guest teacher throughout the world and has served as a jury member
on many of the most prestigious international ballet competitions. She has also
staged numerous ballets both in Canada
and abroad. In 2002, Ms. Popa was invited by President Ion Iliescu to return to
Romania,
where she was presented with the country’s highest honour, the Order of the
Star of Romania.