Alina Cojocaru
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Alina Cojocaru (born May 27, 1981) is a female principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London. She was born in Bucharest, Romania. She was trained at the Kiev Ballet and was a principal there for a year before joining the Royal Ballet. She joined the Royal Ballet in 1999 and became a principal dancer in 2001. She has played such classic roles as Clara in The Nutcracker, Odette and Odile in Swan Lake, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Kitri in Don Quixote, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. The role most associated with her is Giselle, because of her delicate, ethereal style of dancing. In addition, Cojocaru has excelled in modern choreography like Kenneth MacMillan's Manon and Mayerling, and Sir Frederick Ashton's ballets.
Alina's dancing is a sharp contrast to the strong technicians of most ballerinas today. She is a strong dancer, but the overall quality one gets is that of an almost ethereal delicacy, that makes her perfect for roles like Giselle. She often appears to be weightless as she dances. Her frequent partner is the Danish danseur Johan Kobborg, who is also her partner offstage. Kobborg frequently updates his fans about the latest "Johan and Alina". [[1]]
