Daria Klimentová

Prima Ballerina of the English National Ballet in London

Daria was born in Prague; she has performed at ballet scenes all over the world. She performed as a soloist of the ballet company of the National Theatre in Prague in 1989 – 1992. In 1996, Daria joined the English National Ballet. From the very start there, she performed all the lead roles on its repertory. She worked with J. Kylián, G. Tetley, Ch. Hampson, and many other choreographers. She won the Prize of the Paris Dance Foundation at the Prix de Lausanne, Tokyo international ballet contest, and the Gold Medal at the International Ballet Competition in Pretoria. Daria also performed the lead roles in several films (The Lady of the Camellias, A Midsummer Night’s Dream). In 1998, Daria’s life was the subject of a documentary film. She gives her own International Ballet Master Classes in Prague each summer. Her most important roles include: Odetta/Odilia in Swan Lake, Giselle in the ballet of the same name, Princess Aurora, the Lilac Fairy and the Bluebird in the ballet Sleeping Beauty, Swanilda in Coppélia, Nikia in La Bayadère, Cinderella in the ballet of the same name, Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Ofelia in the ballet Hamlet, Juliet in the ballet Romeo and Juliet, Margarita in The Lady of the Camellias, Kitri in the ballet Don Quixote, and solo parts in choreographies by J. Kylián Return to an Unknown Country, G. Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15, G. Tetley’s Sphinx, B. Stevenson’s Three Preludes, Concerto Grosso by Ch. Hampson, etc. Daria Klimentova also goes in for photography – her pictures were published in the daily The Independent, in Balletto 2000, and in many books and magazines all over Europe. She was among the finalists of the Channel 4 Y2K competition and exhibited at the London Photographers Gallery. Her photographs are often applied by various dance organisations, including the English National Ballet, for which she has photographed a calendar.