Jurgita Dronina

Jurgita Dronina (born 27 March 1986) is a Russian-Lithuanian ballet dancer.

She is a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, having previously danced with Royal Swedish Ballet, Dutch National Ballet and English National Ballet.

Born in Saratov, USSR, Dronina and her family moved to Vilnius, Lithuania when she was four.

She started out studying ballroom dancing, and then moved on to gymnastics.

When she was nine, a choreographer suggested that she try ballet.

She attended the Čiurlionis School of Art in Vilnius and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich.

She had host and danced in an International Ballet Star gala in Lithuania, for the 90th.

Anniversary of Lithuanian National Ballet.

In 2023 Featured as one of the main characters alongside Karen Kain in “Swan Song” Documentary Series and Feature Film (TIFF) & (BFI London) by CBC, Canada.

Gold Medal in France, 2003

In 2005, Dronina joined The Royal Swedish Ballet in Stockholm, after she was spotted by the company's then-director, Madeleine Onne, at several competitions.

Silver Medal in Helsinki, Finland, 2005

Silver Medal in Moscow, Russia, 2005

Silver Medal in Jackson, USA, 2006

Reviewing La Sylphide, The Globe and Mail called her "an irresistible performer" and "there is sensuality in her movement that teeters between the creature and the woman."

On her performance in Swan Lake, The Guardian wrote "her execution impeccably clean, not an ounce of energy wasted – there is something unreal about her."

Dronina's repertoire includes:

Danced in works by Mauro Bigonzetti, William Forsyth, Hans Van Manen, Sidi-Larbi Cherkaoui, Rudi van Dantzig, Toer van Schayk, David Dawson, Jorma Elo, Christian Spuck, Krzysztof Pastor, Nils Christe, Jan-Christophe Maillot, Benjamin Millepied, Juanjo Arques, Guillaume Cote, Will Tuckett, Liam Scarlett, Alonzo King.

She became a soloist in 2007, after stepping-in to dance Nikiya in Natalia Makarova's La Bayadère (2006) to cover the injured dancer's performance and Juliet in MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet (2007).

In 2008 The Rotary International Award

Jurgita is a winner of International Ballet Competitions:

In 2009, when she was returning from Verona where she had danced as a guest artist the role of Kitri in Don Quixote, she was asked, at the last minute, to perform Odette/Odile in Swan Lake as the scheduled performer was ill.

She completed the assignment so successfully that she was promoted to principal dancer, at age 22.

In 2009 she was awarded Swedish-Danish cultural Grant awarded by Danish Queen Margarethe II of Denmark

In 2010, after she had again performed the role of Kitri as a guest artist in Amsterdam, artistic director Ted Brandsen was so impressed he offered her a principal contract with the Dutch National Ballet.

As she was looking for a broader variety of works, she accepted the position.

In 2011, she received the Dutch Zwaan (swan) award for her Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty.

In 2014 Jurgita was awarded Alexandra Radius award for Outstanding dancer of the year with Dutch National Ballet, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Alexandra Radius has commented on Jurgita's interpretations of Diamonds and Emeralds in G.Balanchine “Jewels” and “Tchaikovsky pas de deux”: “…any role she touches, turns to gold…”

In 2015, after Dronina contacted Karen Kain, the director of the National Ballet of Canada to join the company as a principal dancer.

Dronina said she made the move as she wanted to have a good balance between classical works and new productions, and she believed Toronto is more suitable for her family.

Dronina was a resident guest principal with Hong Kong Ballet between 2015 and 2017, under direction of Madeleine Onne.

In 2017, after dancing Mary Skeaping's Giselle with the English National Ballet as a guest artist, she joined the company as a Lead Principal Dancer, but remained a Principal Dancer at the National Ballet of Canada.

She shared her time between London's English National Ballet, and Toronto's National Ballet Of Canada from 2018 to 2020, but as COVID-19 pandemic hit, she settled in Toronto.

In 2018 She was awarded the Order for Merits to Lithuania, the Cross of Knight, by President of Lithuania, for distinguished merits in culture worldwide.

The same year on October 25 she was awarded the Baltic Assembly Prize for the Arts., for her contribution to Arts, Dance and Culture.

In 2018 Jurgita was Benois De La Danse nominee for her role of Juliet, in R.Nureyev's “Romeo and Juliet” and Sylphide in A.Bournonville / F.Andersen “La Sylphide” with English National Ballet.

In 2018 Jurgita was nominee of “National Dance Critic’s Award U.K.”, for the best female classical dancer of the Year in United Kingdom.

In 2020, The English National Ballet announced that Dronina will not return to the company in the 2020–21 season, but confirmed Dronina will continue to dance with The National Ballet of Canada.

In 2020/2021 she was named the most influential person in Arts and Culture to Lithuania in a Governmental Yearbook of Lithuania.