Ida Praetorius (born 1993) is a Danish

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 ...

. She joined the

Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet ( Danish: ''Den Kongelige Ballet'') is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world a ...

in 2010, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2016. In 2021, she joined the

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 ...

as a principal dancer.

Early life

Praetorius was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. Her mother is a former dancer with the

who later became a doctor. Her father is an economist. She has two younger brothers who also dance. She started dancing at age 3 and auditioned the join the Royal Danish Ballet School when she was 8. She trained there from 2002 to 2010. During her training, she had danced with

Career

In 2010, Praetorius joined the

as an apprentice at the age of 16. At first, she was cast in little girl roles. However, between age 16 and 18, she grew taller, which forced her to work on her balance. She was promoted to the corps de ballet and soloist in 2014. At age 19, she made her debut as Juliet in

John Neumeier John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He was the director and principal choreographer of Hamburg Ballet from 1973 to 2024 and the artistic director of the ballet at the Hamburg State ...

's ''

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 ...

'', the same age as Mette-Ida Kirk was in 1974, when she was selected by Neumeier to dance in his first Copenhagen ''Romeo and Juliet''. She was chosen by

Thomas Lund Thomas Haubro Lund (born 2 August 1968) is a retired badminton player from Denmark who affiliate with Kastrup Magleby club. Career Lund was one of the world's leading doubles specialists of the 1990s, particularly in mixed doubles. He was a s ...

to dance with him in ''The Lesson'' for his farewell performance. In April 2016, Praetorius was promoted to principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet by the company's artistic director,

Nikolaj Hübbe Nikolaj Hübbe (born 30 October 1967) was artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet until 31 October 2024 when the American Amy Watson was appointed as his replacement. Career Since becoming artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet, Hüb ...

on stage after her performance as Juliet in Neumeier's ''Romeo and Juliet''. She has danced roles such as Odette/Odile in ''

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 Marguerite Gautier in ''The Lady of Camellias''. She has made guest appearances internationally, including Hamburg Ballet, where her mother danced, as well as in U.S. and Canada. Neumeier taught her his ''

Daphnis et Chloé ''Daphnis et Chloé'' is a 1912 ballet and orchestral concert work, subtitled ''symphonie chorégraphique'' (choreographic symphony), for orchestra and wordless chorus by Maurice Ravel. It is in three main sections, or ''parties'', and a dozen s ...

'' himself. In 2020, Praetorius participated in

Misty Copeland Misty Danielle Copeland (born September 10, 1982) is an American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African Americ ...

's fundraiser, Swans for Relief, by dancing '' The Swan'', in light of the impacts of the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic on the dance community. The fund will go to participating dancers' companies and other related relief funds. In 2021, Praetorius went on leave from the Royal Danish Ballet and joined Hamburg Ballet as a principal dancer.

Awards

Praetorius has won the

Erik Bruhn Prize Erik Belton Evers Bruhn (3 October 1928 – 1 April 1986) was a Danish ballet dancer, choreographer, artistic director, actor, and author. Early life Erik Bruhn was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, the fourth child and first son of Ellen (née Eve ...

for Best Female Dancer for her

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 ...

as Eleonore in Bournonville's ''

The Kermesse in Bruges ''The Kermesse in Bruges, or The Three Gifts'' is a burlesque ballet in three acts created by the Danish ballet master and choreographer August Bournonville to music by Holger Simon Paulli, first performed by the Royal Danish Ballet on 4 April ...

'', together with a contemporary piece by choreographer Alessandro Sousa Pereira, danced with her childhood friend and fellow Royal Danish Ballet dancer Andreas Kaas. Praetorius was nominated for Dancer of the Year for Denmark's

Reumert Prize The Reumert Award (Danish: Årets Reumert) is an annual Danish awards ceremony to recognize excellence in theatre achievements in Denmark. The award was founded by the in 1998, and has been handed annually since then. There are 16 award categori ...

. In December 2019, she was also made a knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

Repertoire

*Odette/Odile, ''

'' *Marguerite Gautier, ''The Lady of Camellias'' *Juliet, ''

'' *Ballerina, ''

Theme and Variations In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve melody, rhythm, harmony, counterpoint, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these. Variation is often contrasted with mu ...

'' *Lady Emma, ''

La Bayadere LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

'' *The student, ''The Lesson'' *''

'' pas de deux *Dewdrop, ''

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 ...

'' *Giselle, ''

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Praetorius, Ida Living people Danish ballerinas Royal Danish Ballet principal dancers 1993 births 21st-century Danish ballet dancers Dancers from Copenhagen Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Danish expatriates in Germany