Zenaida Yanowsky

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Zenaida Yanowsky
Lady Keenlyside
Zenaida Yanowsky as Odette in a 2007 Royal Ballet production of Swan Lake
Born (1975-12-23) 23 December 1975 (age 48)
Lyon, France
NationalitySpanish
OccupationBallet dancer
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2006)​
Children2
Career
Former groups
Royal Ballet

Zenaida Yanowsky, Lady Keenlyside (born 23 December 1975), is a French-born Spanish

Royal Ballet
in London.

Early life

Yanowsky was born in

Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, where her parents set up a dance school. Although Yanowsky, along with her siblings, took dance classes at her parents' school, it was not until she turned 14 that she decided to become a professional dancer.[3]

Ballet career

After winning the silver medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition in 1991, she received an invitation to audition for the

Royal Ballet. She was promoted to the status of Principal Dancer in 2001.[2]

In June 2002 she performed the "Black Swan" pas de deux with Roberto Bolle at Buckingham Palace as part of the 'Prom at the Palace', an event held to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

In 2003, she won the Best Female Dancer award at the Critics' Circle National Dance Awards[4] and in 2005 was voted Dancer of the Year by readers of the magazine Dance Europe.[citation needed]

She retired as a permanent company member at the end of the 2017 season.[5]

Career and repertory

She has performed many roles in the 19th century classical repertory, including: Odette/Odile in

The Four Temperaments and Stravinsky Violin Concerto. Her other roles include the Hostess in Les Biches and the Bride in Les Noces (both choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska) and the Black Queen in Checkmate (by Dame Ninette de Valois
).

She has also created roles for and worked with many contemporary choreographers. In the Royal Ballet's 2006/07 season, she created a role in Christopher Wheeldon's DGV: danse a grande vitesse and Anna II in the new production of The Seven Deadly Sins by Will Tuckett. In the 2007/08 season, she worked with Wheeldon again and created a role in Electric Counterpoint. Her role as the maniacal Queen of Hearts in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Christopher Wheeldon, drew thunderous applause from both critics and audiences alike and is frequently viewed on YouTube.[6] She created the role of Paulina in Christopher Wheeldon's 2014 ballet The Winter's Tale.

She is featured in the short dance films Duet and the Sandman (directed by The Brothers Quay and Will Tuckett and Choreographed by Will Tuckett for Channel 4). In 2005, she starred in the BBC2's film 'Riot at the Rite' as Maria Plitz, who danced as the Chosen One in the première of The Rite of Spring in 1913 in Paris.

Personal life

She married the British baritone Simon Keenlyside in August 2006.[7] They have two children, a son, Owen, and a daughter, Iona.[8][9] Her husband was knighted in the 2018 Birthday Honours, granting Yanowsky the title Lady Keenlyside.[10]

Image gallery

  • Zenaida Yanowsky as Sylvia in a Royal Ballet production of Sylvia, 7 March 2008.
    Zenaida Yanowsky as Sylvia in a Royal Ballet production of Sylvia, 7 March 2008.
  • Zenaida Yanowsky as Natalia and Rupert Pennefather as Beliaev in A Month in the Country, performed at the Royal Opera House, 4 March 2008.
    Zenaida Yanowsky as Natalia and Rupert Pennefather as Beliaev in A Month in the Country, performed at the Royal Opera House, 4 March 2008.
  • Zenaida Yanowsky and Roberto Bolle as Nikiya and Solor during the red run for the Royal Ballet production of La Bayadere, 20 October 2007.
    Zenaida Yanowsky and Roberto Bolle as Nikiya and Solor during the red run for the Royal Ballet production of La Bayadere, 20 October 2007.
  • Zenaida Yanowsky as the Black Queen in Checkmate, performed at the Royal Opera House, 8 June 2007.
    Zenaida Yanowsky as the Black Queen in Checkmate, performed at the Royal Opera House, 8 June 2007.

References

  1. ^ "Zenaida Yanowsky" Oxford Index.
  2. ^ a b "Zenaida Yanowsky – People – Royal Opera House". roh.org.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  3. ^ Mackrell, Judith (15 December 2004). "The wild one". The Guardian. London.
  4. ^ "National Dance Awards Critics' Circle". nationaldanceawards.com. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Zenaida Yanowsky to retire from The Royal Ballet – News – Royal Opera House". roh.org.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  6. ^ Emerging Pix (15 April 2013). "Ballet in Cinema: Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland from the Royal Ballet". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2018 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ Wroe, Nicholas (8 September 2007). "The call of the wild". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 September 2007.
  8. ^ Glanville, Mark (30 October 2008). "Interview: Simon Keenlyside". The Jewish Chronicle
  9. ^ Yanowsky, Zenaida (June 2010). "Recommended by Zenaida Yanowsky". londondance.com
  10. ^ "Simon Keenlyside Knighted by the Queen". Opera Wire. 11 June 2018.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zenaida_Yanowsky&oldid=1181122825"