Adji Cissoko is a German ballet dancer. She is currently a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be either gender. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), solois ...

at LINES Ballet.

Early life

Cissoko was born in Munich, Germany, to a German mother and

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

ese father. While growing up, the family visited Senegal regularly and blended both cultures at home. While growing up, she studied the

Vaganova method The Vaganova method is a ballet technique and training system devised by the Russian dancer and pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova (1879–1951). It was derived from the teachings of the ''Premier Maître de Ballet'' Marius Petipa, throughout the lat ...

of ballet training. At age 18, she left Germany to study at

School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The school trains students from the age of six, with professional voc ...

and

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre (ABT/JKO School) is the associate school of American Ballet Theatre located at 890 Broadway, within the Flatiron District of Manhattan, New York City. The school comprises a children ...

, both in New York.

Career

After graduating, Cissoko joined the

corps de ballet In ballet, the ''corps de ballet'' (; French language, French for "body of the little dance") is the group of ballet dancer, dancers who are not principal dancers or Soloist (ballet), soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and ...

at the National Ballet of Canada. The artistic director,

Karen Kain Karen Alexandria Kain (born March 28, 1951) is a Canadian former ballet dancer and was the Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada from 2005 to 2021. Early training and childhood Kain's mother enrolled her daughter in ballet trainin ...

, had seen her dance at the 2009

Prix de Lausanne The Prix de Lausanne () is an international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition ...

. During her first year with the ballet, she was photographed for the cover of the August/September 2011 issue of

Pointe Magazine ''Pointe'' was launched in 2000 as a quarterly, international ballet magazine and was converted from print to a digital magazine in 2020. The magazine covers news on ballet company premieres, established and rising ballet stars, ballet competitio ...

. After three seasons with the National Ballet of Canada, Cissoko felt she wasn't a good fit for the company because of her height, and Kain suggested she try out for LINES Ballet, a more contemporary company with taller dancers. Cissoko was accepted at LINES, although she did return to National Ballet of Canada in summer 2018 to dance ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

''. Cissoko has danced with LINES since 2014, where founder

Alonzo King Alonzo King, born in Georgia to civil-rights activists Slater King and Valencia King Nelson, is an American dancer and choreographer based in San Francisco. King grew up in Georgia and California, and, as an adult, decided his contribution wo ...

encouraged her to be more

improvisational Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

. She has also performed at New Chamber Ballet and Monterrey International Ballet Gala. In 2018, she created the role of Furiosa in ''Fury'', a ballet based on '' Mad Max: Fury Road'' choreographed by

Danielle Rowe Danielle Rowe (born 1982 in Shepparton) is an Australian-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Dancing career Rowe trained in Newcastle and Adelaide. She joined The Australian Ballet in 2001. She won the Telstra People's Choice Award in both ...

and produced by Kate Duhamel.

Personal life

Cissoko also started working as a

life coach Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, which she spent in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. She is fluent in German, French, and English, conversational in Spanish, and knows basic Wolof.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cissoko, Adji Living people 21st-century ballet dancers School of American Ballet alumni Prima ballerinas German ballerinas Entertainers from Munich Year of birth missing (living people)