Media Release

September 10, 2024… Hope Muir, Joan and Jerry Lozinski Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada, today announced that after ten seasons with the company, Principal Dancer Jurgita Dronina will say farewell at the end of the 2024/25 season. She will be returning to Europe for international career opportunities.  

Before joining The National Ballet of Canada as Principal Dancer in 2015, Dronina was Principal Dancer with The Royal Swedish Ballet and Het Nationale Ballet and Lead Principal Dancer with The English National Ballet (2017 – 2020) while remaining full-time member with the National Ballet. Dronina has also been a Resident Guest Artist with The Hong Kong Ballet, Teatro dell’ Opera di Roma, Teatro di San Carlo and guest Principal Dancer with many companies worldwide.  

“As I celebrate my 10th season with The National Ballet of Canada, it is with immense gratitude that I say farewell to this company and the Toronto audience. I have had the privilege to experience some of the best years and some of the best performances of my career here. I will forever cherish memories created with The National Ballet of Canada and will take the experience gained with me on the next chapter of my life and career back in Europe,” said Dronina. 

“Jurgita is a celebrated artist with exceptional talent and has contributed so much to the National Ballet in her time with the company. I applaud her on her deep commitment to this artform and for the many wonderful performances she has shared with our audiences over the past ten years. We all wish Jurgita much happiness in this next chapter.” said Muir  

Internationally acclaimed for her artistry and radiant technique, Dance Europe wrote: “Dronina demonstrates that she is not only graceful and delicate but a ballerina capable of technical wizardry.” Dronina’s repertoire with the several companies she has performed with include every leading role in the entire classical repertoire such as Nykia in La Bayadère, Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, the title role in Giselle, Odette/Odile in numerous versions of Swan Lake including Karen Kain’s, Kitri in Don Quixote, Medora in Le Corsaire, Sylvia in John Neumeiers’ Sylvia and the title role in Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella. Dronina has created roles in contemporary work by choreographers such as Alexei Ratmansky, David Dawson, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jorma Elo, Hans Van Manen, Christian Spuck, Benjamin Millepied and has danced in works by John Neumeier, William Forsythe, Jerome Robbins and many others. 

Her repertoire with the National Ballet includes principal roles in The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Giselle, The Winter’s Tale, Cinderella, Don Quixote, Onegin, La Sylphide, A Streetcar Named Desire, Le Petit Prince, Pinocchio, Serenade, Symphony in C, Elite Syncopations, Genus, The Collective Agreement and Tarantella.  

Jurgita Dronina’s Biography

Season Sponsor: BMO Financial Group 

The National Ballet of Canada gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of the Canada Council for the Arts; the Ontario Arts Council; the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council; the Government of Canada – Department of Canadian Heritage with the Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage; and the Government of Ontario with the Honourable Stan Cho, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming and Minister of Sport. 

Jurgita Dronina. Photo by Karolina Kuras.

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