Nikisha Fogo (born 1995) is a Swedish ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with the

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Franc ...

and previously a principal at the

Vienna State Ballet Vienna State Ballet, ''Wiener Staatsballett'', is considered one of the world's top ballet companies. It was formerly named the Vienna State Opera Ballet as it is based at the Vienna State Opera building. In 2005 the ballets of the Vienna State ...

Early life

Nikisha Fogo was born in Stockholm. Her mother is Swedish, while her father was born in England to Jamaican parents. Her parents owned the first hip-hop dance school in Sweden, and she dabbled in different dance styles such as hip-hop,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, and tap. At age 10, she entered the Royal Swedish Ballet School. The following year, she auditioned for

Talang 2007 ''Talang 2007'' was the first season of the show ''Talang (Swedish TV series), Talang'', the Swedish version of ''Got Talent''. Talang 2007 had its premiere on 13 April 2007 and ended on 1 June 2007. The winner of the show was Zillah & Totte. Th ...

. In 2011, shortly after she turned 16, Fogo competed at the

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 a ...

; though she did not make it into the finals or win any prize, she was offered several scholarships. She also met Gailene Stock, the director of

The Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

in London, who invited her to train in London. Fogo attended the school's second and third years of the Upper School, with a scholarship provided by

Anglo-Swedish Society Founded in the aftermath of the First World War, the Anglo-Swedish Society was established to foster greater understanding and friendship between Britain and Sweden. The continued strong bond between these two nations has allowed the Society to ...

. She graduated in 2013.

Career

Fogo joined the

in 2013. She was promoted to demi-soloist in 2015 and soloist the following year. As a soloist, she danced the principal role in ''

Theme and Variations In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve melody, rhythm, harmony, counterpoint, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these. Variation techniques Mozart's Twelve ...

''. In 2018, she was chosen to dance the title role in artistic director

Manuel Legris Manuel Legris is a French ballet dancer, born in Paris on October 10, 1964. He was an ''étoile'' (star dancer) of the Paris Opera Ballet for 23 years. On September 1, 2010, he began direction of the Vienna State Ballet. He was appointed artisti ...

's reconstruction of '' Sylvia'', which was also Fogo's first full-length principal role. After the performance, Legris promoted Fogo to the rank of principal, the highest rank of the company. She went on to dance principal roles in other productions. In 2020, it was announced that Fogo will join the

, after she had auditioned and took classes when the company was touring in London. Helgi Tomasson, the artistic director of the company, said Fogo "has everything I look for in a principal dancer—strong and versatile technique to excel in the classical and contemporary repertoire, beautiful musicality and a profound desire to dance". Fogo said one of her reasons for leaving the Vienna State Ballet was Legris' departure from the company. Fogo was originally scheduled to relocate to the U.S. in July but had to delay due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic. During this time she danced ''

The Swan A swan is a bird of the genus ''Cygnus'' (true swans) or ''Coscoroba'' (coscoroba swans). Swan, swans, or The Swan may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Film and television * ''The Swan'' (1925 film), a 1925 silent film * ''The Swa ...

'' in Misty Copeland's fundraiser, Swans for Relief, a response to the pandemic's impact on the dance community, with funds going to participating dancers' companies and other related relief funds. She made her San Francisco Ballet debut at the virtual gala in January 2021 with

Julian MacKay Julian MacKay (born 28 October 1997) is an American ballet dancer. He is the first American to have completed both the lower and upper schools at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. In 2016, he joined the Mikhailovsky Ballet as a second solo ...

, also a new principal, and danced the White Swan Pas de Deux from ''

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

'' and the Don Quixote'' Pas de Deux. On colorism in ballet, Fogo, who identifies as mixed race/black, has called for better representation of black dancers, though she has said, "It's tricky: I feel really happy that I can represent for the brown ballerinas, but then I look at my skin and I'm the most pale person ever!"

Selected repertoire

Fogo's repertoire with the Vienna State Ballet includes:

Awards

In 2010, Fogo won first prize at Stora Daldansen Nordic Baltic Ballet Competition in Falun, Sweden, and first prize at the International Classical Dance Contest in Grasse, France.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fogo, Nikisha Living people 1995 births Artists from Stockholm Swedish people of Jamaican descent Swedish ballerinas People educated at the Royal Ballet School Vienna State Opera Swedish expatriates in England Swedish expatriates in Austria 21st-century ballet dancers 21st-century Swedish dancers