The artistic director of the Hungarian National Ballet Institute received the unexpected announcement during the curtain call of the evening performance of Swan Lake on 26 April. The swan-shaped award, created by the Herend Porcelain Manufactory, was presented by ballet director Tamás Solymosi amid the celebrations of the company and the audience.
Dace Radina, artistic director of the Hungarian National Ballet Institute (HNBI), which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, has been responsible since 2019 for the high-quality training of ballet students at the Hungarian State Opera. Under her leadership, HNBI students not only participate successfully in productions of the Hungarian National Ballet, including the record-breaking run of The Nutcracker, but also present youth adaptations of popular classical ballets based on a unique artistic concept. Following Little Swan Lake and Little Sleeping Beauty, this spring saw the premiere of Little Coppélia, also created under her direction. Under her guidance, HNBI students have achieved outstanding results in numerous prestigious international competitions in recent years (including the Youth America Grand Prix, Vienna International Ballet Experience, International Dance Talent Competition Italy, and Budapest Ballet Grand Prix), on several occasions earning awards that recognised the institute as the best school. Thanks to her professional work, a number of graduating students from the Hungarian National Ballet Institute have gone on to begin their artistic careers with the ballet company of the Hungarian State Opera.
After graduating from the Riga Choreography School and spending two seasons with the Latvian National Opera Ballet, Radina Dace joined the Hungarian National Ballet in 1998, where she was first promoted to soloist and later to first soloist. During her active performing career, which lasted until 2019, she appeared in numerous leading roles, including Bianca (The Taming of the Shrew), Gamzatti (La bayadère), Kitri (Don Quixote), Kitty (Anna Karenina), Konstanze (Amadeus), the Girl (The Miraculous Mandarin), Larisch (Mayerling), Lise (La Fille mal gardée), Princess Mary (The Nutcracker), Tatiana and Olga (Onegin), and Swanilda (Coppélia).
The title Chamber Artist of the Hungarian National Ballet may be awarded to a dancer or ballet master who regularly contributes to the presentation or realisation of OPERA productions and, through their talent and work, delivers outstanding performance in a given season. The distinction has now been presented mid-season for the first time, similarly to the Étoile title, during a curtain call in front of the audience.
Photo by Valter Berecz
