Tereza Podařilová

Biography

Principal dancer of the National Theatre Ballet Tereza Podařilová was born in Prague. Between 1982 and 1990 she studied at Prague’s Dance Conservatory, in 1988–1990 and 1993 she took part in residencies at the Tanzakademie Köln. In 1990 she was engaged by the National Theatre, where in 1992 she became a soloist and in 2003 a principal dancer. A mere cursory glance at her repertoire reveals that she performs with the same confidence and technical virtuosity in titles from both the classical and modern repertoire and, furthermore, through her interpretation she injects inner tension and dramatic content into each of these demanding tasks. She captured attention in the lead role of the ballet Sylvia, as Kitri in Don Quixote and Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty. Audiences have had the opportunity to see her in the central role of Cinderella in Prokofiev’s ballet of the same name, as Margarita in La Dame aux Camellias, as Swanilda in Coppelia, Antonina in the ballet Tchaikovsky and Salome in Cruel Game. Most noteworthy in her repertoire are the dual role of Odette and Odile in Swan Lake, Maria in The Nutcracker, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Raymonda in the ballet of the same name, Isadora in J. Bednárik and L. Vaculík’s production Isadora Duncan – The Story of a Famous Dancer, Tatiana in Onegin, the lead role in Christopher Hampson’s version of Giselle and the role of the dreamy Klara in the new adaptation of the ballet The Nutcracker - A Christmas Carol by the choreographer Yuri Vamos. She also demonstrated her sense for comic hyperbole in the staging of Some Like It…, where she rendered the role of the dance troupe Soloist. She dazzled in productions by the world-famous choreographer J. Cranko – as Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew and Tatiana in Onegin. Her long-term cooperation with the painter J. Kunovský inspired her to co-create the dance-visual project Sirael, which was presented on the stage of the Kolowrat Theatre. When it comes to the modern repertoire, she has danced solo roles in choreographies by J. Kylián, Sinfonietta, Return to a Strange Land, Stamping Ground, Petite Mort, P. Zuska, Ways 03, Among the Mountains, Ibbur, or A Prague Mystery, Requiem and BREL – VYSOTSKY – KRYL / Solo for Three, N. Duato, Jardí Tancat, A. Ailey, The River, I. Galili, Through Nana’s Eyes, G. Balanchine, Who Cares?, Divertimento and Tchaikovsky, Pas de deux. In the mixed bill entitled Ballet Mania she dances Medora in Le Corsaire (Pas de trois), in Grand Pas de quatre to music by C. Pugni, as well as in the famous choreography by M. Fokin The Dying Swan to C. Saint-Saëns’s music. In 1990 Tereza Podařilová won first prize in the national ballet competition in Prague. In 1993 she received the Philip Morris Ballet Flower Award, which is bestowed in the Czech Republic on the best ballet artist in the field of classical dance. In 1998 she received the Thalia Award for her rendition of the title role in Carmen and again in 2003 for Katherine in the ballet The Taming of the Shrew. She is the first dancer in the history of the Thalia Award to have won three of these prestigious prizes. She received the 2005 Thalia Award for her performance in the role of Tatiana in Cranko’s celebrated ballet Onegin. Between 1999 and 2003 she regularly won the Most Popular Dancer Award. She is the holder of the Pushkin Legacy Award for the role of Tatiana in the ballet Onegin (2000), a National Theatre plaque of honour and Kobanadi, the Komerční banka Award for 2006.