Manola Asensio (born 1943 in Lausanne, Switzerland) is a former Swiss ballet dancer. She was born to a Swiss father and an English-born mother. In 1956 she began studying at the ballet school of

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

in Milan, where she stayed until she became a professional in 1964. After a short season with the

La Scala Theatre Ballet The La Scala Theatre Ballet () is the resident classical ballet company at La Scala in Milan, Italy. One of the oldest and most renowned ballet companies in the world, the company pre-dates the theatre, but was officially founded at the inaugura ...

, she joined the ballet of the

Grand Théâtre de Genève Grand Théâtre de Genève is an opera house in Geneva, Switzerland. As with many other opera houses, the Grand Théâtre de Genève is both a venue and an institution. The venue is a majestic building, towering over Place Neuve, officia ...

in Geneva, Switzerland where she was directed by Janine Charrat. In 1966 she joined

Het Nationale Ballet The Dutch National Ballet (Dutch: Het Nationale Ballet) is the official and largest ballet company in the Netherlands. Its forerunners were Ballet Der Lage Landen, Ballet of the Nederlandse Opera, Amsterdam Ballet, and Netherlands Ballet (Nederla ...

of the Netherlands, in Amsterdam, as a soloist. There she danced important roles in ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' ( , ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (; ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet () in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, it was first perfor ...

'', '' The Sleeping Beauty'', ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

'', and in the ballet ''King Christian II'', created especially for her by Danish choreographer

Harald Lander Harald Alfred Bernhardt Stevnsborg Lander (25 February 1905 – 14 September 1971) was a Danish dancer, choreographer and artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet. Lander was born in Copenhagen. He started as a dancer, studying under ballet ...

. With the Dutch company she toured extensively in Europe (France, UK, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal) and South America (Brazil, Argentina, Perú, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico). From 1968 to 1970 she joined with

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...

, by invitation of its director

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

, She danced successfully the main roles in ''

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

'', ''

The Four Temperaments ''The Four Temperaments'' or Theme and Four Variations (''The Four Temperaments'') is an orchestral work and ballet by Paul Hindemith. Although it was originally conceived as a ballet for Léonide Massine, the score was ultimately completed a ...

'' and '' Symphony in C''. From 1971 to 1974 she was invited to be principal dancer with the

Harkness Ballet The Harkness Ballet (1964–1975) was a New ballet company named after its founder Rebekah Harkness. Harkness inherited her husband's fortune in Standard Oil holdings, and was a dance lover. Harkness funded Joffrey Ballet, but when they refused ...

, directed by

Rebekah Harkness Rebekah West Harkness (née Semple West; April 17, 1915June 17, 1982) also known as Betty Harkness, was an American composer, socialite, sculptor, dance patron, and philanthropist who founded the Harkness Ballet. In 1947, she married William Hale ...

. With them she toured with immense success in the United States, Canada, Spain, Portugal, England, France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. In 1974 Dame

Beryl Grey Dame Beryl Elizabeth Grey (née Groom; 11 June 1927 – 10 December 2022) was a British ballet dancer. Early life Beryl Elizabeth Groom was born in Highgate, London on 11 June 1927 to Annie and Arthur "Bob" Groom. She was an only child. She beg ...

invited her to join the

London Festival Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Alicia Markova, Dame Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin (ballet dancer), Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham ...

(LFB) as danseuse étoile. With this company she danced most of the ballets of the classical repertoire, such as '' The Sleeping Beauty'', ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', ''

'' (where she excelled in the role of the Queen of the Wilis) choreographed by

Mary Skeaping Mary Emma Skeaping (15 December 19029 February 1984) was an English ballerina who is better known as a ballet teacher, director, choreographer, and producer. She served as director of the Royal Swedish Ballet in Stockholm for nine years (19531 ...

, ''

'', ''

Raymonda ''Raymonda'' () is a ballet, grand ballet in three acts, four scenes with an apotheosis, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Alexander Glazunov (his Opus number, opus 57) and libretto by Lydia Pashkova. ''Raymonda'' was creat ...

'', ''

Les Sylphides () is a short, non-narrative '' ballet blanc'' to piano music by Frédéric Chopin, selected and orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov. The ballet, described as a "romantic reverie","Ballet Theater", until 1955. A compact disk of ABT's product ...

'', ''

Paquita ''Paquita'' is a ballet in two acts and three scenes originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to music by Édouard Deldevez and Ludwig Minkus. Paul Foucher received royalties as librettist. History ''Paquita'' is the creation of French c ...

'', ''

La Bayadère ''La Bayadère'' ("the temple dancer") ( ru. «Баядерка», ''Bayaderka'') is an 1877 ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by the French choreographer Marius Petipa to music by Ludwig Minkus and libretto by . The ba ...

'',

Ronald Hynd Ronald Hynd (born 22 April 1931) is an English choreographer, and in his youth was a ballet dancer. In the Royal Ballet in the late 1940s he began to dance with Annette Page, whom he later married. Page died on 4 December 2017. They have a daugh ...

's '' The Sanguine Fan'', '' The Seasons'' and ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

'', ''

Le Corsaire ''Le Corsaire'' is a ballet typically presented in three acts, with a libretto originally created by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges loosely based on the poem '' The Corsair'' by Lord Byron. Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to ...

pas de deux In ballet, a ( French, literally "step of two") is a dance duet in which two dancers, typically a male and a female, perform ballet steps together. The ''pas de deux'' is characteristic of classical ballet and can be found in many well-known ...

, and also in neoclassical ballets as

Glen Tetley Glen Tetley (February 3, 1926 – January 26, 2007) 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 Lunair ...

's ''The Sphynx'' and Ben Stevenson's '' Three Preludes''. They toured China (Peking, Shanghai) being the first Western company to perform in Mao's China. In 1981 she danced ''Three Preludes'' in Brussels'

Théâtre de la Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...

in a gala performance with several dancers of

Béjart Ballet The Béjart Ballet Lausanne is a Swiss ballet company. It is based in the city of Lausanne and performs all over the world. The Béjart Ballet Lausanne was founded in 1987. It was established by Maurice Béjart, a well-known choreographer who had ...

du XXè siècle, in the presence of

Queen Fabiola of Belgium Fabiola Fernanda María-de-las-Victorias Antonia Adelaida de Mora y Aragón (11 June 1928 – 5 December 2014) was Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Baudouin from their marriage in 1960 until his death in 1993. The couple had no child ...

and

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

. From 1975 to 1983 she successfully danced with

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of his generation as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all ...

, in ''

Scheherazade Scheherazade () is a major character and the storyteller in the frame story, frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the ''One Thousand and One Nights''. Name According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade ...

'' at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, ''The Sleeping Beauty'' at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, City of Westminster, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the Lond ...

, at several galas and performances of "''Nureyev and Friends'' in Salzburg, Paris, Santander, Madrid (in the presence of the King and Queen of Spain) and London. In 1976, she danced with immense success "The Golden Cockrel*chor. Beriozoff. with a 15minute standing ovation at the London Coliseum. In 1980 she successfully toured the USSR for a month by invitation of Swiss dancer Hans Meister. Asensio was hailed as "the Western Plisetskaya" by Russian critics. In 1986 Asensio danced her farewell performance as the Queen of the Wilis in ''Giselle'' at the London Coliseum. Then in 1987 she received two teaching diplomas from the

Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) is an international dance teaching and examination board based in London, England. The registered educational charity, which was established on 25 July 1904 as the ''Imperial Society of Dance T ...

in London. She was a jury member of the

Prix de Lausanne The Prix de Lausanne () is an international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition ...

in 1990, in Lausanne and Tokyo. She dedicated the next 20 years to teaching (in her own schools in Córdoba, Spain, and at the Théâtre Municipal in Lausanne, Switzerland), and to research, to production of ballets, music and theatre performances within the structure of the Helios Foundation, which she and her husband created. She gave training courses to dance teachers in the dance conservatories of Cordoba and Seville, she created the choreography for the Cordoba Gran Teatro production of Gluck's opera ''

Orfeo ed Euridice (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the '' azione teatrale'', meaning an ...

''. Asensio was decorated by the Cordoba Ateneo and the regional government of Andalusia for her contributions to culture. Asensio was the first international Swiss dancer of the 20th century and one of the five greatest ballerinas of the 20th.century. Her portrait with Dame

is in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

National Portrait Gallery
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asensio, Manola 1943 births Swiss ballerinas Harkness Ballet dancers Living people People from Lausanne