View Gallery

Biography

A native of Toronto, Sonia Rodriguez studied dance in Madrid with Pedro de la Cruz and at the Princess Grace Academy in Monaco. She joined The National Ballet of Canada in 1990 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2000.

Recently, Ms.Rodriguez debuted as Hermione in The Winter’s Tale and as Le Renard in the world premiere of Le Petit Prince. She has danced the principal roles in Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Manon, La Fille mal gardée, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Nijinsky, Hamlet, Song of the Earth and Opus 19/The Dreamer. Her repertoire includes numerous George Balanchine ballets, including Apollo, Mozartiana, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Theme and Variations, Serenade, The Four Temperaments and Diamonds and Rubies from Jewels as well as in works by contemporary choreographers such as Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, John Neumeier, Wayne McGregor, Jorma Elo and Crystal Pite. Ms. Rodriguez has had many roles created on her, including the title role in Cinderella, Princess Vasilisa in The Firebird and roles in An Italian Straw Hat and The Four Seasons. 

“Sonia Rodriguez, as radiant in personality as fleet of foot, is the ideal Cinderella.” 
National Post

Ms. Rodriguez has held numerous guesting engagements, including the Stars of the 21st Century Gala in New York City, International Ballet Gala in Madrid, Spain, Gala of International Dance Stars in Cincinnati, International Ballet Festival of Miami, Houston Ballet Gala and the FestivALL Dance Gala in Charleston, West Virginia. In 2005, she danced the role of Dulcinea in the world premiere of Suzanne Farrell’s re-staging of Balanchine’s Don Quixote at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

In 2014, Ms. Rodriguez was named one of “The 100 Spaniards” being honored for her success abroad and was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2012. In 2011, she was honoured with Spain’s Officer’s Cross of the Civil Merit and wrote her first children’s book, T is for Tutu: A Ballet Alphabet.