Eglė Špokaitė facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eglė Špokaitė
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Eglė Špokaitė in the role of Kitri
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| Born | 15 January 1971 |
| Education | Vilnius School of Ballet |
| Occupation | Artistic director |
Eglė Špokaitė (born in Vilnius, Lithuania in 1971) is a super talented ballet dancer. She was a main dancer, called a Principal Ballerina, at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre for many years (1989–2011). She is even the only ballet dancer on the list of Famous Lithuanians!
Eglė also loves to teach. She helped start the Egle Špokaitė Ballet School in Vilnius in 2008. Later, in 2016, she opened the Ballet Institute of San Diego in the United States. Besides dancing and teaching, Eglė is also a choreographer (she creates dances), an actress, and a public speaker. She has won many important awards, including the Lithuanian National Prize. Today, she lives and works in both San Diego, USA, and Vilnius, Lithuania.
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Her Amazing Career
Eglė Špokaitė started her journey in ballet in Vilnius. She finished her training at the Vilnius School of Ballet in 1989. Right after graduating, she became a main dancer at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. She performed many famous roles there. These included Giselle in "Giselle" and Juliet in "Romeo & Juliet." She also played Kitri in "Don Quixote."
Between 1994 and 1996, Eglė competed in four international ballet competitions. She won all of them!
A Star Ballerina
Eglė's professional ballet career began in 1989. She worked with many famous ballet masters and choreographers. One special collaboration was with Mstislav Rostropovich for "Romeo & Juliet." This famous Russian conductor said Eglė's Juliet was his favorite!
She was also guided by Maya Plisetskaya. Maya was a legendary Soviet dancer and choreographer. She worked with Eglė on many projects. Eglė performed classical roles with great teachers like Ninel Kurgapkina. She also worked with other famous artists. These included Gidon Kremer and Eimuntas Nekrošius. She danced for choreographers like Boris Eifman and Alexei Ratmansky. Eglė also performed as a guest artist in many national operas. These included the Georgian, Latvian, and Finnish National Operas. She was part of the Lithuanian National Opera until 2011.
Teaching Ballet
In 2008, Eglė helped create the Egle Spokaite Ballet School. It became the biggest private ballet school in the Baltic region. More than 700 students learned ballet there!
In 2015, she also helped start the Vilnius Youth Ballet Competition. This event helps find new young ballet talents. By 2017, over 200 young dancers joined the competition. They came from many different European countries. You can see more about it here: .
In 2016, Eglė moved to San Diego, USA. There, she opened her own dance school. It is called the Ballet Institute of San Diego.
Creating Dances
After leaving the stage in 2011, Eglė started a new adventure. In March 2015, she became a choreographer. She created her first ballet called "The Blue Danube." It premiered at the Kaunas National Musical Theater. Eglė wrote the story and created all the dance moves for it.
Acting on Stage
Eglė also showed her talent as an actress. She played Desdemona in "Othello." This play was directed by the famous Lithuanian director Eimuntas Nekrošius. After its first show in 2001, Eglė traveled the world with this play for over ten years.
Famous Ballet Roles
Here are some of the main ballet roles Eglė Špokaitė performed:
- Giselle in "Giselle" (1985)
- Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (1993)
- Kitri and Mercedes in "Don Quixote" (1994)
- Aurora in "The Sleeping Beauty" (1996)
- Marie in "The Nutcracker" (1996)
- Carmen in "Carmen"
- Hippolyta in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1998)
- Marina in "Zorba the Greek" (1998)
- Ballerina in "Red Giselle" (2001)
- The Empress in "Russian Hamlet" (2003)
- Odette-Odile in "Swan Lake" (2004)
- Desdemona in "Desdemona" (2005)
- Anna Karenina in "Anna Karenina" (2005)
- Sacrifice in "The Rite of Spring" (2006)
- Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet" (2009)
- Olympia in "Copellia" (2010)
Theater Roles
- Desdemona in W. Shakespeare's "Othello" (2000)
Choreography Work
- "The Blue Danube" ballet, set to music by J. Strauss II (2015)
Film Appearances
- W. Shakespeare's "Othello" (2005)
- Russian Hamlet (2006)
Awards and Honors
Eglė Špokaitė has received many important awards for her amazing talent:
- First prize, Helsinki International Ballet Competition (1995)
- First prize (Gold Medal), Nagoya International competition (Japan, 1996)
- Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (1996)
- Lithuanian National Prize (1996)
- "Operos Svyturiai" National Award for "Female Ballet Soloist of the Year" (2002, 2003)
- Ballet Soloists' Audience Award (2003)
- Golden Stage Cross for outstanding achievements in ballet (2003, 2006, 2011)
- Grant from The International Maya Plisetskaya and Rodion Shchedrin Foundation. This was for her dedication to ballet.
Personal Life
Eglė Špokaitė is married to Dainius Macikenas. He is a scientist and photographer. They live in both San Diego, USA, and Vilnius, Lithuania.
