Tina Pereira (born ) is a Trinidadian-Canadian ballet dancer and designer. She joined the National Ballet of Canada in 2001, then the

Dutch National Ballet The Dutch National Ballet (Dutch: Het Nationale Ballet) is the official and largest ballet company in the Netherlands. History The Dutch National Ballet was formed in 1961 when the Amsterdam Ballet and the Nederlands Ballet merged. The company h ...

in 2004. She returned to the Canadian company in 2006, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2021.

Early life and training

Pereira was born in

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

, Trinidad, to a family with Portuguese, Chinese and Trinidadian Creole backgrounds. When she was three, her family immigrated to

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. She started her dance training when she was five, in ballet, tap and jazz. She entered

Canada's National Ballet School Canada's National Ballet School, also commonly known as the National Ballet School of Canada, is a classical ballet school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Along with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's ...

when she was twelve. In her final year, she was chosen by choreographer

Toer van Schayk Toer van Schayk (born 28 September 1936) is a Dutch ballet dancer, choreographer, scenic and costume designer, painter, and sculptor. Along with Rudi van Dantzig and Hans van Manen, he is one of the creative triumvirate that brought the Dutch Nati ...

to dance a main role in ''Pyrrhic Dances''.

Career

Pereira joined the National Ballet of Canada in 2001. She was originally given a two-year apprenticeship but was taken into the corps de ballet four months after joining, and was soon given lead roles. In 2004, she left for the

, but returned to the Canadian company in 2006. In 2007, Pereira represented the company with Keiichi Hirano at the

Erik Bruhn Prize Erik Belton Evers Bruhn (3 October 1928 – 1 April 1986) was a Danish danseur, choreographer, artistic director, actor, and author. Early life Erik Bruhn was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, the fourth child and first son of Ellen (née Evers), ...

and won the female category. She was chosen as a replacement for

Bridgett Zehr Bridgett Zehr (born c. 1985) is an American ballet dancer. After terms with the Houston Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada, she joined the English National Ballet in 2011 as a principal. Biography Born in Sarasota, Florida, Zehr trained from ...

, who suffered an injury two weeks prior. During the classical portion of the competition, the pair danced a pas de deux from '' Le Corsaire'', but Hirano tore his Achilles tendon mid-performance, and she completed the pas de deux by improvising. In the contemporary portion, instead of a new ballet created for the competition by Sabrina Matthews, she danced the balcony pas de deux from Cranko's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'' with principal dancer

Guillaume Côté Guillaume Côté (born September 17, 1981) is a Canadian ballet dancer and choreographer. He is currently a principal dancer and a Choreographic Associate at the National Ballet of Canada. Early life Côté was born in Lac Saint-Jean, Quebec. Bo ...

. She was promoted to second soloist later that year. In 2009, she was promoted to first soloist. During the 2014-15 season, she suffered from an ankle injury, which led to her being absent from the stage for the entire season. While recovering, she taught herself how to use a sewing machine and make dancewear. She launched her brand Ballerina Couture in November 2015, though she outsourced manufacturing. In 2020, she was featured in ''Tina'', a short documentary about her injury and comeback, made by David Kalinauskas. The same year, she danced Fokine's ''

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 ...

'' at home for Misty Copeland's fundraiser Swans for Relief, to raise funds for dancers struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the 38-year-old Pereira was named principal dancer. The promotion came late in her career.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pereira, Tina 1980s births Living people Canadian ballerinas Canadian expatriates in the Netherlands Canadian female dancers Canadian people of Portuguese descent Dutch National Ballet dancers National Ballet of Canada principal dancers People from Mississauga People from Port of Spain Prima ballerinas Trinidad and Tobago dancers Trinidad and Tobago female dancers Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to Canada Trinidad and Tobago expatriates in the Netherlands Trinidad and Tobago people of Portuguese descent 21st-century ballet dancers 21st-century Canadian dancers