Greta Hodgkinson
Encyclopedia
Greta Hodgkinson is a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada
.
, Hodgkinson was active from an early age in ice skating
, gymnastics
and ballet
. From age eight to ten she studied at the Festival Ballet Providence Center for Dance Education under teachers Christine Hennessey and Winthop Corey who noted her talent when she played Clara in The Nutcracker
. Hodgkinson also had additional summer training in Boston
and New York City
. A friend of the family suggested the National Ballet School in Toronto
for the talented youngster, and her parents agreed because they wanted a school that combined academic training and supervised boarding.
At age eleven Hodgkinson began her studies at the National Ballet School after a successful audition. She joined the National Ballet of Canada in 1990 at age sixteen and was promoted to second soloist in 1993, and then to first soloist in 1995 after her successful debut as the Swan Queen/Black Swan in Erik Bruhn’s Swan Lake
. When James Kudelka
assumed control of the company in 1996, he made Hodgkinson a principal dancer.
specially created for the occasion by James Kudelka. In 1996 Hodgkinson travelled to Sydney, Australia and danced in William Forsythe’s
In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated with the Australian Ballet. She danced the Grand Pas Classique and the summer pas de deux from The Four Seasons at the Stars of the 21st Century International Ballet Gala at the Hummingbird Centre
in Toronto in 1997. She also performed the summer pas de deux at the John Cranko Gala for the Stuttgart Ballet
. In 1998 Hodgkinson performed a pas de deux from Désir and the summer pas de deux from The Four Seasons at a tribute to Galina Ulanova
in Paris
. Also in 1998 Hodgkinson was the subject of a cover story in Dance Magazine
, twice appeared on the cover of Dance International, and was featured in two issues of the fashion magazine, GQ Italia. She again performed the summer pas de deux and a pas de deux from Tagore for the opening of the Royal Opera House
in London
in 1999.
Hodgkinson was nominated in 2000 for the Prix Benois de la Danse, an international award for excellence in ballet, for her role as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake. In 2000 and 2001, Dance Europe voted her Best Performance by a Female Dancer for her interpretation of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake and for Summer in The Four Seasons. In 2001, 2002 and 2003, Hodgkinson performed in Gala des Etoiles with Rex Harrington
and Carlos Acosta
of the Royal Ballet. Also in 2001 Hodgkinson made her debut with the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, dancing the role of Hanna in The Merry Widow
. She has also performed with them in The Nutcracker and in 2005, danced Giselle with Roberto Bolle.
In 2002 and 2005 Hodgkinson performed in the Gala of International Ballet Stars in Cincinnati. In the summer of 2003 Hodgkinson toured to Japan
, performing in K Ballet’s Swan Lake with Tetsuya Kumakawa. She also performed with Roberto Bolle at the World Ballet Festival in Tokyo
, and in Sicily
and Milan
at outdoor galas. In 2004 Hodgkinson was invited to perform at the re-opening of La Scala
opera house in Milan, dancing in the Gala des Etoiles.
In July 2004, Hodgkinson worked with Jiri Kylian
at the Nederlands Dans Theatre
and toured Italy with Roberto Bolle, performing Kylian’s Petit Mort, William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, and Excelsior, choreographed by Luigi Manzotti
. Also in 2004, Hodgkinson made her debut as part of the Kirov Ballet’s Fourth International Ballet Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. Hodgkinson danced the Herman Shmerman pas de deux and Grand Pas Classique in the National Ballet of Canada’s inaugural performance in the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in 2006.
Hodgkinson’s many lead roles include Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet
, the title roles in Cinderella
, Giselle
and Manon
, the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Kitri in Don Quixote
, Hanna in The Merry Widow, Tatiana in Onegin, Nikiya in La Bayadère
, and Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew. Hodgkinson has an extensive Balanchine
including Terpsichore in Apollo, as well as lead roles in Diamonds and Rubies from Jewels, Theme and Variations, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, The Four Temperaments and Serenade. Lead roles for other choreographers include Natalia Makarova’s
Paquita, Glen Tetley’s
Voluntaries, Alice, La Ronde, and Sphinx, Victor Gsovsky
’s bravura pas de deux, Grand Pas Classique, Harald Lander’s Etudes, and multiple works by Jiri Kylián, including Dream Dances.
Other lead roles by Hodgkinson include Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, the title role in The Firebird
, the Snow Queen in The Nutcracker and Anaïs in An Italian Straw Hat, all choreographed by James Kudelka. Hodgkinson created the role of Isolde in John Alleyne’s Tristan and Isolde, and appeared in Alleyne's Interrogating Slam and Septet, Jean-Pierre Perreault’s The Comforts of Solitude, Matjash Mrozewski’s A Delicate Battle, Dominique Dumais’ one hundred words for snow and the weight of absence, and Glen Tetley's Oracle. Hodgkinson danced in the company premieres of Kudelka’s Désir, Terra Firma and Cruel World. She also danced in Jean Grand-Maitre's Frames of Mind, John Neumeier's
Now and Then, and Jerome Robbins’
Opus 19, The Dreamer.
Hodgkinson’s film
credits include the starring role in The Firebird, Summer in The Four Seasons, A Dancer’s Story: 50 Years of The National Ballet of Canada (performing The Sleeping Beauty pas de deux), as well as a featured role in The Rings of Saturn. She is also featured in the film of the New Year's Concert 2004 from the re-opened Teatro La Fenice
in Venice
, produced by Rai Trade. In 2005 she starred in a film version of Roxanna, based on the novel by Daniel Defoe
.
. She says she is flattered when ballet fans take the time to write her. Her maternal grandparents are Armenian
.
National Ballet of Canada
The National Ballet of Canada is Canada's largest ballet troupe. It was founded by Celia Franca in 1951 and is based in Toronto, Ontario. Based upon the unity of Canadian trained dancers in the tradition and style of England's Royal Ballet, The National is regarded as one of the premier classical...
.
Early life and training
Raised in Warwick, Rhode IslandWarwick, Rhode Island
Warwick is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. It is the second largest city in the state, with a population of 82,672 at the 2010 census. Its mayor has been Scott Avedisian since 2000...
, Hodgkinson was active from an early age in ice skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
, gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
and ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
. From age eight to ten she studied at the Festival Ballet Providence Center for Dance Education under teachers Christine Hennessey and Winthop Corey who noted her talent when she played Clara in The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
. Hodgkinson also had additional summer training in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. A friend of the family suggested the National Ballet School in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
for the talented youngster, and her parents agreed because they wanted a school that combined academic training and supervised boarding.
At age eleven Hodgkinson began her studies at the National Ballet School after a successful audition. She joined the National Ballet of Canada in 1990 at age sixteen and was promoted to second soloist in 1993, and then to first soloist in 1995 after her successful debut as the Swan Queen/Black Swan in Erik Bruhn’s Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
. When James Kudelka
James Kudelka
James Kudelka, OC, , is a choreographer, dancer, and director. He was the artistic director for the National Ballet of Canada from 1996 to 2005, now serving as the National Ballet's artist in residence....
assumed control of the company in 1996, he made Hodgkinson a principal dancer.
Career
In 1993 Hodgkinson represented the National Ballet of Canada in the third Erik Bruhn prize competition performing Grand Pas Classique and Vittoria, a pas de deuxPas de deux
In ballet, a pas de deux is a duet in which ballet dancers perform the dance together. It usually consists of an entrée, adagio, two variations , and a coda.-Notable Pas de deux:...
specially created for the occasion by James Kudelka. In 1996 Hodgkinson travelled to Sydney, Australia and danced in William Forsythe’s
William Forsythe (dancer)
William Forsythe is an American dancer and choreographer resident in Frankfurt am Main in Hessen. He is known internationally for his work with the Ballett Frankfurt and The Forsythe Company...
In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated with the Australian Ballet. She danced the Grand Pas Classique and the summer pas de deux from The Four Seasons at the Stars of the 21st Century International Ballet Gala at the Hummingbird Centre
Hummingbird Centre
The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts is a major performing arts venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-About the Centre:The Sony Centre For The Performing Arts is Canada’s largest soft-seat theatre...
in Toronto in 1997. She also performed the summer pas de deux at the John Cranko Gala for the Stuttgart Ballet
Stuttgart Ballet
Stuttgart Ballet was the first major German ballet company. It rose to fame in the 1960s under Artistic Director John Cranko. The company, which is renowned for presentations of full-length narrative ballets including Romeo and Juliet, Eugene Onegin, The Taming of the Shrew, John Neumeier's Die...
. In 1998 Hodgkinson performed a pas de deux from Désir and the summer pas de deux from The Four Seasons at a tribute to Galina Ulanova
Galina Ulanova
Galina Sergeyevna Ulánova is frequently cited as being one of the greatest 20th Century ballerinas. Her flat in Moscow is designated a national museum, and there are monuments to her in Saint Petersburg and Stockholm....
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Also in 1998 Hodgkinson was the subject of a cover story in Dance Magazine
Dance Magazine
Dance Magazine is an "influential" American trade publication for dance, currently published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as The American Dancer. William Como was its editor-in-chief from 1970 to his death in 1989. Wendy Perron became its editor-in...
, twice appeared on the cover of Dance International, and was featured in two issues of the fashion magazine, GQ Italia. She again performed the summer pas de deux and a pas de deux from Tagore for the opening of the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1999.
Hodgkinson was nominated in 2000 for the Prix Benois de la Danse, an international award for excellence in ballet, for her role as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake. In 2000 and 2001, Dance Europe voted her Best Performance by a Female Dancer for her interpretation of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake and for Summer in The Four Seasons. In 2001, 2002 and 2003, Hodgkinson performed in Gala des Etoiles with Rex Harrington
Rex Harrington
Rex Howard Harrington, OC, FRSC is a Canadian ballet dancer. In 2000, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2005, he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. In 2006, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by York University and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada...
and Carlos Acosta
Carlos Acosta
Carlos Acosta is a Cuban ballet dancer. He has danced with many companies including the English National Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, Houston Ballet and American Ballet Theatre...
of the Royal Ballet. Also in 2001 Hodgkinson made her debut with the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, dancing the role of Hanna in The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow (ballet)
The Merry Widow ballet is an adaptation of Franz Lehár's romantic operetta The Merry Widow .John Lanchbery and Alan Abbott adapted the score of the operetta for ballet and retained the style of Lehár's orchestration. The arrangement includes the well-known tunes of the operetta - Vilja's Song Ich...
. She has also performed with them in The Nutcracker and in 2005, danced Giselle with Roberto Bolle.
In 2002 and 2005 Hodgkinson performed in the Gala of International Ballet Stars in Cincinnati. In the summer of 2003 Hodgkinson toured to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, performing in K Ballet’s Swan Lake with Tetsuya Kumakawa. She also performed with Roberto Bolle at the World Ballet Festival in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, and in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
and Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
at outdoor galas. In 2004 Hodgkinson was invited to perform at the re-opening of La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
opera house in Milan, dancing in the Gala des Etoiles.
In July 2004, Hodgkinson worked with Jiri Kylian
Jiří Kylián
Jiří Kylián is a Czech dance choreographer.Kylián studied in Prague and, at the age of 20, won a scholarship at the Royal Ballet School in London. He joined the Stuttgart Ballet in 1968 and worked under John Cranko, where he began to choreograph. Kylián became Artistic Director of Nederlands Dans...
at the Nederlands Dans Theatre
Nederlands Dans Theatre
Nederlands Dans Theater is a Dutch contemporary dance company. NDT is headquartered at the Lucent Danstheater in The Hague...
and toured Italy with Roberto Bolle, performing Kylian’s Petit Mort, William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, and Excelsior, choreographed by Luigi Manzotti
Luigi Manzotti
Luigi Manzotti was an Italian mime dancer and choreographer.Born in Milan, Manzotti created his first ballet in 1858 and his subsequent productions were performed around the world. Today he is best remembered for his choreography of the ballet Excelsior , music by Romualdo Marenco.-External links:...
. Also in 2004, Hodgkinson made her debut as part of the Kirov Ballet’s Fourth International Ballet Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. Hodgkinson danced the Herman Shmerman pas de deux and Grand Pas Classique in the National Ballet of Canada’s inaugural performance in the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in 2006.
Hodgkinson’s many lead roles include Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)
Romeo and Juliet is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It is one of the most enduringly popular ballets...
, the title roles in Cinderella
Cinderella (Prokofiev)
Cinderella is a ballet, Op. 87, composed by Sergei Prokofiev to a scenario by Nikolai Volkov. It is one of his most popular and melodious compositions, and has inspired a great many choreographers since its inception. The piece was composed between 1940 and 1944. Part way through writing it he...
, Giselle
Giselle
Giselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...
and Manon
L'histoire de Manon
L'histoire de Manon is a ballet comprising the music of Jules Massenet, arranged and partially orchestrated by British composer Leighton Lucas, re-orchestrated entirely by conductor Martin Yates in 2011...
, the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Kitri in Don Quixote
Don Quixote (ballet)
Don Quixote is a ballet originally staged in four acts and eight scenes, based on an episode taken from the famous novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus and was first presented by the Ballet of the...
, Hanna in The Merry Widow, Tatiana in Onegin, Nikiya in La Bayadère
La Bayadère
La Bayadère is a ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by French choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. La Bayadère was first performed by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on...
, and Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew. Hodgkinson has an extensive Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
including Terpsichore in Apollo, as well as lead roles in Diamonds and Rubies from Jewels, Theme and Variations, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, The Four Temperaments and Serenade. Lead roles for other choreographers include Natalia Makarova’s
Natalia Makarova
Nataliya Romanovna Makarova is the legendary Soviet-Russian-born prima ballerina. The History of Dance, published in 1981, notes that “Her performances set standards of artistry and aristocracy of dance which mark her as the finest ballerina of her generation.” She has also won awards as an...
Paquita, Glen Tetley’s
Glen Tetley
Glen Tetley was an American ballet and modern dancer as well as a choreographer who mixed ballet and modern dance to create a new way of looking at dance, and is best known for his piece Pierrot Lunaire.-Biography:Glenford Andrew Tetley, Jr. was born on February 3, 1926 in Cleveland, Ohio...
Voluntaries, Alice, La Ronde, and Sphinx, Victor Gsovsky
Victor Gsovsky
Victor Gsovsky was a ballet dancer and choreographer.Victor Gsovsky was born in Petersburg, the Russian empire.His teacher on ballet was a Mariinsky Theatre’s prima ballerina Evgenia Sokolova....
’s bravura pas de deux, Grand Pas Classique, Harald Lander’s Etudes, and multiple works by Jiri Kylián, including Dream Dances.
Other lead roles by Hodgkinson include Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, the title role in The Firebird
The Firebird
The Firebird is a 1910 ballet created by the composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer Michel Fokine. The ballet is based on Russian folk tales of the magical glowing bird of the same name that is both a blessing and a curse to its captor....
, the Snow Queen in The Nutcracker and Anaïs in An Italian Straw Hat, all choreographed by James Kudelka. Hodgkinson created the role of Isolde in John Alleyne’s Tristan and Isolde, and appeared in Alleyne's Interrogating Slam and Septet, Jean-Pierre Perreault’s The Comforts of Solitude, Matjash Mrozewski’s A Delicate Battle, Dominique Dumais’ one hundred words for snow and the weight of absence, and Glen Tetley's Oracle. Hodgkinson danced in the company premieres of Kudelka’s Désir, Terra Firma and Cruel World. She also danced in Jean Grand-Maitre's Frames of Mind, John Neumeier's
John Neumeier
John Neumeier is a well-known American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He has been the director and chief choreographer of the Hamburg Ballet since 1973. 5 years later he founded the Hamburg Ballet School, which also includes a boarding school...
Now and Then, and Jerome Robbins’
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
Opus 19, The Dreamer.
Hodgkinson’s film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
credits include the starring role in The Firebird, Summer in The Four Seasons, A Dancer’s Story: 50 Years of The National Ballet of Canada (performing The Sleeping Beauty pas de deux), as well as a featured role in The Rings of Saturn. She is also featured in the film of the New Year's Concert 2004 from the re-opened Teatro La Fenice
La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, produced by Rai Trade. In 2005 she starred in a film version of Roxanna, based on the novel by Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
.
Personal life
Hodgkinson and her husband Etienne Lavigne, a first soloist at the National Ballet of Canada, recently bought their first house. She enjoys hosting dinner parties and going to the movies, where she claims that she never walks out because she likes the entire cinema-going experience. Although she finds the task demanding, Hodgkinson attempts to answer all her fan mailFan mail
Fan mail is mail sent to a public figure, especially a celebrity, by their admirers or "fans".In return celebrities may send a poster or picture and usually a return letter.-Overview:...
. She says she is flattered when ballet fans take the time to write her. Her maternal grandparents are Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
.
External links
- Article on Greta Hodgkinson from Dance MagazineDance MagazineDance Magazine is an "influential" American trade publication for dance, currently published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as The American Dancer. William Como was its editor-in-chief from 1970 to his death in 1989. Wendy Perron became its editor-in...
- Greta Hodgkinson page at National Ballet of Canada website
- Rhode Island Dance website article on Greta Hodgkinson
- National Ballet's Greta Hodgkinson weds fellow dancer