After winning the silver medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition in 1991, she received an invitation to audition for the
Paris Opera Ballet, and joined the company that year. In 1993 she won the gold medal at the
Eurovision Young Dancers Competition and in 1994 the gold medal at the
Jackson International Ballet Competition. In the autumn of 1994, having left the
Paris Opera Ballet earlier on in the year, she joined the
Royal Ballet. She was promoted to the status of Principal Dancer in 2001. and in 2005 was voted Dancer of the Year by readers of the magazine
Dance Europe. She retired as a permanent company member at the end of the 2017 season.
Career and repertory She has performed many roles in the 19th century classical repertory, including: Odette/Odile in
Swan Lake, Lilac Fairy & Carabosse in
The Sleeping Beauty, Sugar Plum Fairy in
The Nutcracker, Nikiya & Gamzatti in
La Bayadère and Myrtha in
Giselle. She has also performed in many ballets choreographed by the Royal Ballet's most important choreographers, Sir
Frederick Ashton and Sir
Kenneth MacMillan. Her Ashton roles include: the title role in
Sylvia, Lady
Elgar in
Enigma Variations, Natalia Petrovna in
A Month in the Country, Marguerite in
Marguerite and Armand, Josephine in
Wedding Bouquet and
Monotones II. Her MacMillan roles include: the title role in
Manon, Empress Elisabeth in
Mayerling, The Chosen One in
The Rite of Spring and First Sister in
My Brother, My Sisters. She has also performed in many ballets by
Balanchine, including the Siren in
Prodigal Son, Terpsichore in
Apollo,
Jewels,
Agon,
Symphony in C,
Serenade,
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. 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==