Alicia Amatriain (born 1980) is a Spanish

ballet dancer A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...

. She was a principal dancer at the

Stuttgart Ballet Stuttgart Ballet is a leading German ballet company. Dating back to 1609, then the court ballet of the dukes of Württemberg, the modern company was founded by John Cranko and is known for full-length narrative ballets. The company received the ...

Biography

Amatriain was born in

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

, Spain. She first learned ballet there and later trained at John Cranko Schule in Stuttgart. She graduated in 1998 and joined

as an apprentice. A year later, she was promoted to the corps de ballet. In 2002, she was named principal dancer. In 2015, Amatriain was awarded , the highest honour a dancer can receive in Germany. The following year, she won a

Prix Benois de la Danse The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and ...

for her performance in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' and ''The Soldier's Tale''. Amatriain has also made guest appearances in Russia, France, Cuba, Argentina and Germany. She had also appeared in

Roberto Bolle Roberto Bolle (born 26 March 1975) is an Italian danseur. He is a principal dancer ''étoile'' at La Scala Theatre Ballet. Bolle also dances regularly as a guest artist with the world’s leading companies, including The Royal Ballet, the Ma ...

's gala, ''Roberto Bolle and Friends''. Amatriain has danced

John Cranko John Cyril Cranko (15 August 1927 – 26 June 1973) was a South African ballet dancer and choreographer with the Royal Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet. Life and career Early life Cranko was born to Herbert and Grace Cranko in Rustenburg in ...

's works such as Tatiana in '' Onegin'', Odette/Odile in ''

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 ...

'' and Juliet in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

''. She has also danced works by

John Neumeier John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He was the director and principal choreographer of Hamburg Ballet from 1973 to 2024 and the artistic director of the ballet at the Hamburg State ...

, William Forsythe and

Hans van Manen Hans Arthur Gerard van Manen (; born 11 July 1932) is a Dutch ballet dancer, choreographer and photographer. He studied under Sonia Gaskell and Françoise Adret. Van Manen wrote many ballets. He worked for the Dutch National Ballet from 1973 to ...

. She created roles for many choreographers, including the lead role in Christian Spuck's ''Lulu''. In April 2022, Amatriain announced her retirement due to a hip injury.

Selected repertoire

Amatriain's repertoire with the Stuttgart Ballet included: *''A Midsummer Night’s Dream'': Hermia *''A Streetcar named Desire'': Blanche du Bois *'' Afternoon of a Faun'' *''

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

'': Terpsichore *''Boléro'': The Melody *''

Dances at a Gathering ''Dances at a Gathering'' is a ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins to music by Frédéric Chopin, with costumes designed by Joe Eula. The ballet premiered on May 22, 1969, at the New York State Theater, performed by the New York City Ballet ...

'': Role in Pink and Role in Mauve *''

Don Quijote Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a village and hill station in Dang district, G ...

'': Kitri *''Le Grand Pas de deux'' *''

Giselle ''Giselle'' ( , ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (; ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet () in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, it was first perfor ...

'': Giselle *''

La Sylphide ''La Sylphide'' (; ) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. Bournonville's is the only ve ...

'': The Sylph *''Lady of the Camellias'': Marguerite Gautier, Manon, Olympia *''

Le Sacre du Printemps ''The Rite of Spring'' () is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky ...

'': Pas de deux *''

Mayerling Mayerling is a small village (pop. 200) in Lower Austria belonging to the municipality of Alland in the district of Baden (district of Austria), Baden. It is situated on the Schwechat river, in the Vienna Woods, Wienerwald (''Vienna woods''), so ...

'': Countess Marie Larisch *'' Onegin'': Tatiana *''

'': Juliet *''

Serenade In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honour of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Ital ...

'' *'' The Sleeping Beauty'': Aurora *'' Song of the Earth'': female leading role *''

'': Odette/Odile *'' Symphony in C'': 1st and 2nd Movement *''

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 is often contrasted with mu ...

Created roles

*''A.Memory'': Solo role *''Arcadia'' *''Aus Ihrer Zeit'' *''Dark Glow'' *''Das Fräulein von S.'': diamond *''Deux'' *''Don Quijote'' (Maximiliano Guerra): Dulcinea *''Dummy Run'' *''E=mc²'' *''EDEN / EDEN'' *''Egurra'' *''Fanfare LX'' *Goecke at the Kammertheater: ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

'': Snow Fairy *''Hamlet'': Ophelia *''Hikarizatto'': Solo role *''Il Concertone'' *''Krabat'': Worschula *''Lulu. A Monstre Tragedy'': title role *''Miniatures'' *''Mono Lisa'' *''Nautilus'' *''Nightlight'' *''nocturne'' *''Orlando'': Queen Elizabeth I. *''Orphée et Euridice'': solo role *''RED in 3.'' *''Salome'': The Moon *''Songs'' *''still.nest'' *''Take Your Pleasure Seriously'' *''

The Dying Swan ''The Dying Swan'' (originally ''The Swan'') is a solo dance choreographed by Mikhail Fokine to Camille Saint-Saëns's '' Le Cygne'' from '' Le Carnaval des animaux'' as a ''pièce d'occasion'' for the ballerina Anna Pavlova, who performed it a ...

'' (Renato Arismendi after Mikhail Fokine) *''The Shaking Tent'' *''The Soldier's Tale'': The Devil *''Yantra''

Awards and honours

*, 2015 * Der Faust, Darstellerin Tanz (dancer) for the devil in Demis Volpi's ''Die Geschichte vom Soldaten'' (The Soldier's Tale) *

, 2016 *Birgit Keil Prize, 2022

Personal life

Amatriain's partner is Stuttgart Ballet soloist Alexander McGowan. In 2019, Stuttgart Ballet announced that the couple was expecting their first child. Therefore, Amatriain did not participate in the company's tour to Taiwan. In March 2020, Amatriain announced the birth of their daughter.

References

External links

Alicia Amatriain
– Stuttgart Ballet profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Amatriain, Alicia Living people Spanish ballerinas Spanish expatriates in Germany Prix Benois de la Danse winners Prima ballerinas 21st-century Spanish ballet dancers Stuttgart Ballet 1980 births People from San Sebastián Basque women