Yasmine Naghdi (born 25 March 1992) is a British ballerina and a principal ballerina of

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

, London. She joined The Royal Ballet's

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 ...

in April 2010 while she was a graduate student at The Royal Ballet School. She made her way up through all the five ranks of The Royal Ballet and reached the highest rank aged 24, when she was promoted to

principal ballerina 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 ...

Early life and training

Nagdhi was born to an Iranian

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

father and a Belgian mother. She also has some Georgian heritage on her father's side. Naghdi grew up in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

and attended Hill House School. At 7 or 8 years old, she joined the West London School of Dance and took after-school classes at the Marie Rambert Studio in

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...

. Naghdi started her vocational training at 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 2004. She was a Royal Ballet School junior associate before joining The Royal Ballet School at White Lodge. As a student, she worked with The Royal Ballet company and first appeared on the Royal Opera House stage, aged 11, in ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'', aged 12 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 later on in

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

and ''

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 ...

''. In September 2008 Yasmine Naghdi progressed into The Royal Ballet School's Senior Section/Upper School; in March 2009 she was awarded first prize in the " Young British Dancer of the Year" competition.

Career

Naghdi joined The Royal Ballet in April 2010 and was promoted to the rank of first artist by the end of 2011–2012 season. She was made

soloist (ballet) In ballet, a soloist is a rank or position in a ballet company. This rank is above the '' corps de ballet'' but below principal dancer. As signified by the name, dancers at this level begin to perform more leading roles and sections of dancing whe ...

at the end of the 2013–2014 season, first soloist at the end of the 2015–2016 season and by the end of the 2016–2017 season she was promoted to The Royal Ballet's highest rank and became a principal ballerina aged 24. At the age of 22, she danced her debut as 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 ...

''; The Royal Ballet was celebrating 50 years since

Sir Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...

's ''Romeo and Juliet'' premiered at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

in 1965. She danced her debut as Odette/Odile in ''

'' aged 24.

Repertory

Naghdi's major leading roles with the Company include Odette/Odile (''

''), Princess Aurora ('' The Sleeping Beauty''),

Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist Ro ...

(''

''), Tatiana ('' Onegin''), Giselle, Cinderella, Kitri (''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

''), Gamzatti (''

La Bayadère ''La Bayadère'' ("the temple dancer") ( ru. «Баядерка», ''Bayaderka'') is an 1877 ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by the French choreographer Marius Petipa to music by Ludwig Minkus and libretto by . The ba ...

''), Swanilda (''

Coppélia ''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Éti ...

''), Baroness Mary Vetsera (''

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 Larish (''

''), Sugar Plum Fairy (''

''), Firebird (''

The Firebird ''The Firebird'' (; ) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Michel Fokine, who c ...

''), Mathilde Kschessinska (''

Anastasia Anastasia (from ) is a feminine given name of Greek and Slavic origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe. Origin The name Anastasia originated during the Early Christianity, early d ...

''), Tita (''Like Water for Chocolate''), Irina (''

Winter Dreams "Winter Dreams" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald first published in '' Metropolitan'' magazine in December 1922 and collected in '' All the Sad Young Men'' in 1926. The plot concerns the attempts by a young Midwestern man to win the aff ...

''),

Terpsichore In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (; , "delight in dancing") is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word " terpsichorean", which means "of or relating to dance". Appearance Terpsichore is usually d ...

(''

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 ...

''), Young Girl (''

The Two Pigeons ''The Two Pigeons'' (original French title: ''Les deux pigeons'') is a fable by La Fontaine's Fables, Jean de la Fontaine (Book IX.2) that was adapted as a ballet with music by André Messager in the 19th century and rechoreagraphed to the same mu ...

''), Stop Time Rag and Bethena/Concert Waltz (''

Elite Syncopations "Elite Syncopations" is a 1902 ragtime piano composition by American composer Scott Joplin, originally published in 1903 by John Stark & Son.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 ...

''). Her further repertory includes ''

Concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

'', '' Within the Golden Hour'' (central pas de deux), '' Symphonic Variations'', ''Scènes de ballet'', Balanchine's ''

Jewels A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

'', ''Tarantella'', ''The Four Temperaments'', '' Symphony in C'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Ballo della Regina'', '' Ballet Imperial'', and ''

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 ...

''; ''

Le Corsaire ''Le Corsaire'' is a ballet typically presented in three acts, with a libretto originally created by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges loosely based on the poem '' The Corsair'' by Lord Byron. Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to ...

'', ''

La Valse ''La valse'', ''poème chorégraphique pour orchestre'' (a choreographic poem for orchestra), is a work written by Maurice Ravel between February 1919 and 1920; it was first performed on 12 December 1920 in Paris. It was conceived as a ballet bu ...

'', '' Sylvia'', ''Le Parc'' (

Angelin Preljocaj Angelin Preljocaj (; born 19 January 1957) is a French dancer and choreographer of contemporary dance. Early life Angelin Preljocaj was born in 1957 in Sucy-en-Brie, France. He is of Albanians, Albanian descent. His father was born in Vermosh bu ...

), '' Three Preludes'' ( Ben Stevenson) and various works by Wayne McGregor and Christopher Wheeldon. She created a role in Zucchetti's ''Prima''.

Personal life

In 2023, Naghdi married Riccardo Ghezzi.

Honours

* First prize "Classical Excellence", The Royal Ballet School * "Most Outstanding Classical Dancer" award, 2007 * First prize "Kenneth Macmillan Choreographic Competition", The Royal Ballet School. * First prize Young British Dancer of the Year, 2009. * Nominated "Best Female Dancer" at the National Critics Dance Awards, 2018

References

External links

Yasmine Naghdi — People — Royal Opera House

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Naghdi, Yasmine Living people 1992 births English ballerinas English people of Belgian descent English people of Georgian descent English people of Iranian descent Entertainers from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Entertainers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea People educated at Hill House School People from Kensington Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet