Jurgita Dronina has been appointed as the Artistic Director of Ballet, the Lithuanian National Ballet and Opera Theatre (LNBOT) announced on 6th January 2024.
LNBOT’s news release does not specify when Dronina will assume the position but the text suggests she will likely do so sooner than later if she has not yet done so.
The announcement also comes somewhat expected as Dronina left the National Ballet of Canada in November 2024 almost in haste, much earlier than the initially announced departure at the end of the 2024-2025 season. The company said that she would return to Europe to pursue opportunities.
In the news release in Lithuanian, Dronina says, “I return home with pride, excitement and ambition and begin my duties as the artistic director of the LNOBT ballet troupe. After 20 years spent dancing on the international ballet stage, this is a particularly significant change in my activities. I feel honored to have the opportunity to lead the troupe and begin a new stage, which we are entering as we prepare to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Lithuanian Ballet.” The text is Google translated.
The internationally celebrated Lithuanian dancer will perform the title role of Giselle on 9th, 10th and 11th January at LNBOT in Vilnius as her swan song.
Francesco Gabriele Frola, Lead Principal of the English National Ballet, will perform the role of Albrecht.
LNBOT says in the same news release that the current artistic director of ballet, Martynas Rimeikis, will become the chief choreographer of the theatre after four and half years in the position. He will produce Léo Delibes’s ballet Coppelia with his contemporary interpretation in December this year for the 100th anniversary of the Lithuanian National Ballet.
