| Tamara Rojo | |
|---|---|
Tamara Rojo after dancing Tzigane, Royal Opera House, March 2008 |
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| Born | 17 May 1974 Montreal, Canada |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation | Ballet dancer |
Tamara Rojo (born 17 May 1974) is a Spanish prima ballerina, and is currently a Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet in London.
Rojo was born in Montreal, Canada, to Spanish parents who moved back to Spain when she was four months old. She started dancing at the age of 10 in Víctor Ullate Dance Centre in Madrid (1983–1991), and completed her training under David Howard and Renato Paroni. Rojo continued to work with the Ullate Company from 1991 to 1996. At the age of 20 she was offered a contract with the Scottish Ballet, by Galina Samsova. On her arrival at Scottish Ballet Rojo has jokingly said "I spoke no English at this time but it did not matter; neither did they." She would dance with them until her move to the English National Ballet in June 1997. There she was promoted to Principal Dancer in January 1998. She officially joined Royal Ballet as a Principal Dancer at the start of the 2000/2001 season, although she danced Giselle with the Royal Ballet at the end of the previous season in July 2000, at short notice and as a replacement for Darcey Bussell, who was injured.[1]
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Rojo started taking local dance classes at the age of 5 in Spain. By the time she reached age 11, Rojo became a full-time student at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid, studying under Victor Ullate and Karemia Moreno. Though her parents were thrilled at her talent, they insisted wholeheartedly that Rojo also complete an academic education. Therefore, after studio rehearsals every day, Rojo would attend evening classes. When Rojo was 16, she graduated from the Conservatory and had only two more years until her completion of regular school studies. Upon completion, she was immediately invited to join Ullate’s company, the Ballet de la Comunidad de Madrid. Rojo became the Principal ballerina when the original suffered an injury. She has performed prima roles ever since. In 2000, Sir Anthony Dowell requested that Rojo perform the role of Giselle with the Royal Ballet of London as a guest artist. Shortly after the debut of her performance, Rojo became a Principal Ballerina with a company at Covent Garden. Rojo is currently 37 and is still a performer for the company.
Tamara Rojo graduated with Honours in Master of Theatrical Arts and Bachelor of Dance from the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid. She trained with Vicor Ullate and danced with the Ballet de la Comunidad de Madrid in a wide-ranging repertoire, in which she developed her remarkable classical technique. Mr. Ullate choreographed many works for her to perform during this time. In 1994, she became notable after winning the Gold Medal at the Paris International Dance competition and a Special Jury Award given by Natalia Makarova, Vladimir Vassiliev, and Galina Samsova, a judging penal consist of most outstanding figures of the ballet world. In 1996, Rojo left her motherland Spain upon accepting an invitation by Galina Samsova to join the Scottish National Ballet. While working with the Scottish National Ballet, she performed the principal roles in Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, La Sylphide, and Cranko’ s Romeo and Juliet. Leaving Scottish National Ballet in 1997, she joined the English National Ballet. She started dancing a variety of principal roles such as Swan Lake, Paquita, Coppelia, Glen Tetley’s The Sphinx and Voluntaries, and Michael Corder’s Cinderella. Amazed by her talents, Artistic Director Derek Deane of the English National Ballet created the roles of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Clara in The Nutcracker for Rojo. Rojo was named “Dance Revelation of the Year” in 1997 after her performance as Clara, breaking attendance records at the London Coliseum. Rojo was invited as a guest artist to dance as Giselle with the Royal Ballet by Sir Anthony Dowell, the Artistic Director of Britain's Royal Ballet.
After receiving praise from both critics and audience, Rojo was officially invited to become a principal dancer of the Royal Ballet in 2000.[2] She has been working with the company extensively ever since. Since Rojo joined The Royal Ballet, she has taken principal roles in Dowell’s Swan Lake, Makarova’s The Sleeping Beauty and La Bayadere, Mason´s The Sleeping Beauty, Nureyev´s Don Quixote and Wright´s The Nutcracker. She has performed in repertory, recreated for her by Deborah MacMillan, includes the title roles in Isadora, Romeo and Juliet, Manon, Mary Vetsera in Mayerling, The Woman in Song of the Earth, The Chosen One in Rite of Spring, Masha & Olga inWinter Dreams, Requiem, My Brother My Sisters, and Danses Concertantes. In addition, her works includes Cinderella, Ondine, Marguerite and Armand, Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan, Homage to the Queen and A Wedding Bouquet. She danced in the world premiere of Snow White especially created for her by choreographer Richardo Cue.
In 2000 Rojo approached Royal Ballet director Anthony Dowell, having researched and decided that this company was one she would flourish with. "I'd have taken a corps de ballet contract, anything, but there wasn't one," she told Jann Parry, who was at that time the Observer's dance critic. Later that year, though, a principal contract came up and Rojo was recommended. Then later that year Rojo was asked to replace an injured Darcey Bussell in Giselle. Ignoring her own sprained ankle and the short notice she learned the role in two weeks time and went on to receive rave reviews [3] In 2002, while dancing as Clara in the Nutcracker, Rojo started shaking on stage. After the show, she was sent to a private hospital where they determined that her her appendix had burst and she stayed there to heal for 6 weeks. However, two weeks later she was back dancing and she was forced to go to a hospital again. This represented the determination that many dancers have when it comes to their art as they continue to perform despite injuries they may experience. Rojo, however, admitted that it was “completely wrong and I do not feel that anyone should do this. It really is not worth it.” [4] In 2003, while preparing for the Royale Ballet’s Australian tour, Rojo was once again plagued with another setback when she suffered an infected bunion that became so bad that her foot had swollen to the size of a tennis ball. Doctors determined that Rojo needed to have it drained and have surgery on her foot—a potentially career ending operation. Nevertheless she knew that this operation was a necessary step to take if she were ever to dance let alone walk again. A mere twenty four hours after her operation an Ambassador from Spain called to inform her that she had been honored with an award and needed to be in Cadiz the next week. The King of Spain presented her with the Royal Gold Medal of Fine Arts a prestigious honor that few can say they have achieved. Months later and after countless hours of rehabilitation, she returned to dancing and said that the injury changed her perspective on life, her body, and dance. She felt that she valued each and everyday more and learned that nothing in life should be taken for granted.[5]
The following is a list of repertoire of Tamara Rojo's performance in various ballet company.
| Role | Choreographer | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Les Sylphides | Petipa | B.B.Com.Madrid, Royal Ballet |
| Theme and Variations | Balanchine | B.C.Madrid-Ullate, Royal Ballet |
| Allegro Brillante | Balanchine | B.Com.Madrid-Ullate |
| Grossa Fuga | Hans Van Mannen | B.Com.Madrid-Ullate |
| In the Future | Glen Tetley | B.Com.Madrid-Ullate |
| Arraigo | Victor Ullate | B.Com.Madrid-Ullate |
| Simum | Victor Ullate | B.Com.Madrid-Ullate |
| Three Cornered Hat | Leonide/Massine | Bal.Opera de Nice |
| Le Beau Danube | Derek Deane | Bal.Opera de Nice |
| Rite of Spring | Kenneth MacMillan | E.N.B., Royal Ballet |
| Clara (Nutcracker ) | Cranko | English Nat. Ballet |
| Paquita | Leonide/Massine | English Nat. Ballet |
| Juliet (Romeo and Juliet) | Kenneth MacMillan | English Nat. Ballet |
| Cinderella | Ben Stevenson | English Nat. Ballet |
| Three Preludes | Hans Van Mannen | English Nat. Ballet |
| Nascita di Orfeo | Christopher Hampson | Ente Publico Arena de Verona |
| Odette/Odile (Swan Lake) | Deane/Makarova/M.Mason/Nureyev | Kirov Ballet |
| Blancanieves | Ricardo Cue | Music: E. Aragón – Spain |
| Odette/Odile (Swan Lake) | Lev Ivanov | ENB/Scottish Ballet |
| Consolations & Liebestraum | Christopher Bruce | ROH2 |
| Tatiana (Onegin) | Rudolf Nureyev | Royal Ballet |
| Juliet (Romeo and Juliet) | Kenneth MacMillan | Royal Ballet |
| Isadora | Kenneth MacMillan | Royal Ballet |
| Mary Vetsera (Mayerling) | Kenneth MacMillan | Royal Ballet |
| Manon | Kenneth MacMillan | Royal Ballet |
| Song of the Earth | Kenneth MacMillan | Royal Ballet |
| Requiem | Kenneth MacMillan | Royal Ballet |
| Winter Dreams | Kenneth MacMillan | Royal Ballet |
| My Brother, My Sisters | Balanchine | Royal Ballet |
| Symphony in C | Balanchine | Royal Ballet |
| Jewels | Balanchine | Royal Ballet |
| Tzigane | Example | Royal Ballet |
| Dances at a Gathering | Jerome Robbins | Royal Ballet |
| Rushes | Wayne McGregor | Royal Ballet |
| Chroma | Liam Scarlett | Royal Ballet |
| Kitri (Don Quixote ) | Vladimir Vasiliev | Ballet Alla Escala |
| Sugar Plum Fairy (Nutcracker) | Fokin | Royal Ballet, E.N.B. |
| Juliet (Romeo and Juliet) | Cranko | Scottish Ballet |
| La Sylphide | Bournonville/Sorella Englund J.Covalli/J.Perrot | Scottish Ballet, Royal Ballet |
| Giselle | Petipa /Deane/A. Dowell/ | Royal Ballet, Ullate,B.N.Cuba |
| Kitri (Don Quixote ) | D. Deane/Petipa/Ashton | The Tokyo Ballet |
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