Elza Leimane (born 2 July 1984) is a Latvian

ballet dancer A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...

Biography

She graduated from the Riga Choreography School in 2001 and has been a member of the Latvian National Ballet Company since her graduation. She has been a principal dancer with the company since 2004. Leimane has had additional ballet training from the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

(1999), Anaheim Ballet summer courses, USA (1999), International Batrolin Ballet seminar (2002 and 2003), Vienna Conservatory summer courses (2000), the St Petersburg Ballet Company,

Maryinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...

and

Hamburg Ballet The Hamburg Ballet is a ballet company based in Hamburg, Germany. Since 1973, it has been directed by the American dancer and choreographer John Neumeier. In addition there is a ballet school, , established in 1978. The performances of the Hamb ...

. She was a member of the European Youth Ballet in 2000, 2001 and 2004. Leimane comes from a very talented family, her grandmother is the Latvian actress

Baiba Indriksone Baiba Indriksone (22 February 1932 – 14 May 2024) was a Latvian film and stage actress, affiliated with the Latvian National Theatre. Life and career Indriksone was born in Riga on 22 February 1932. She graduated from the Jāzeps Vītols Latvi ...

, who at the age of 75 is still performing at the National Theatre. Her grandfather was a film director and her parents were both dancers at the Latvian National Ballet. For over ten years, her father

Aivars Leimanis Aivars Leimanis was a Latvian ballet dancer and is now the Artistic Director of Latvia’s National Ballet. His daughter is the ballet dancer, Elza Leimane. From 1968-1976, he trained at the Riga School of Choreography. From 1978-1980, he ta ...

has been the artistic director of Latvia's National Ballet. She has danced a wide variety of roles such as ''Kitri'' in

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

, the title role 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 ...

, ''Juliet'' in

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 ...

, ''Gulnara'' in

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 ...

, ''Marquise de Mereuil'' in

Les Liaisons Dangereuses ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (; English: ''Dangerous Liaisons'') is a French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu on March 23, 1782. It is the story of the Marquise Isabelle de Merteu ...

and ''Katarina'' in

Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a Frame story, framing device, often referred to as the Induction (play), inducti ...

. She has toured extensively in Norway, Germany, France, Russia, Finland, England, Italy, Croatia,

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, Portugal and Spain. She has been involved in the multimedia charity project, Underwater Photo Ballet and was a model for Kondrašins Personal Calendar in 2007. In 2020, she played Snow White's stepmother in the fantasy comedy film '' In the Mirror''.

Awards

Leimane has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Latvian Culture Ministry Award (1998, 1999), the Aldaris Prize 'Dancer of the year 2005' and the Theatre Prize 'Best Dancer in principal roles 2007'. She has also participated in the following international competitions: * Rudolf Nureyev International Ballet Competition (

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, 1998) - Best Young Dancer Prize and Djagilev Special Prize * International Ballet Competition (

Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, 1998) - bronze medal * Vienna International Ballet Competition (1999) - 1st prize *

Eurovision Young Dancers Eurovision Young Dancers (), often shortened to EYD, or Young Dancers, was a biennial dance competition, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) between members of the union, who participate representing their countries. Broadcasters ...

(France, 1999) - finalist *

New York International Ballet Competition The New York International Ballet Competition (NYIBC), was a program providing dance education and employment opportunities for young dancers ages 17 to 24. In 1983 Ilona Copen founded NYIBC, with Igor Youskevitch as first artistic director, in ord ...

(2005) - finalist * South African International Ballet Competition (2008) - silver medal

Personal life

Leimane's dancing partner and partner has been Raimonds Martinovs, a fellow Latvian dancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leimane, Elza 1984 births Living people Latvian ballerinas Dancers from Riga