Nina Poláková

Nina Poláková

Director, SND Ballet
Address: Pribinova 17, 819 01 Bratislava
She graduated from the Dance Conservatory of Eva Jaczová in Bratislava under the direction of Klára Škodová and Rafael Avnikjan. During her studies, she became a soloist of the Slovak National Theatre Ballet, where she performed the main characters in the ballets La Bayadère, Giselle, Le Corsaire, The Swan Lake and Spartacus before and after her graduation.
 
Since 2005 she has been a member of the Vienna State Ballet, and since 2011 as the first soloist. She has appeared in the lead roles of masterpieces of the classical and neoclassical repertoire, such as La Bayadère, Carmen, Don Quixote, Giselle, Giselle Rouge, Le Corsaire, La Sylphide, The Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Manon, Marguerite and Armand, Mayerling, Onegin, The Pavilion of Armida, Peer Gynt, Raymonda, Romeo and Juliet, The Snow Queen, Sleeping Beauty and others.
 
She has danced in principal roles in iconic works by legendary world choreographers such as Rudolf Nureyev, John Neumeier, Manuel Legris, John Cranko, Sir Kenneth McMillan, Vladimir Malakhov, George Balanchine, Sergei Lifar, Jerome Robbins, Hans van Manen, Twyla Tharp, Jiří Kylián, Wiliam Forsythe, Michael Corder, Gyula Harangozóa, Christopher Wheeldon, Sir Frederick Ashton, Mauro Bigonzetti, Edwaard Liang, Patrick de Bana, Pierre Lacotte, Boris Eifman, Jorma Elo, Nils Christe, David Dawson, Edward Clug, Liam Scarlett and many others. She has presented her performing art at the world's foremost ballet venues.
 
She was one of the few Slovak dancers who won awards at international ballet competitions. Some of the most notable ones include 1st Prize and Grand Prix at the International Ballet Competition in Brno (2000), the Philip Morris Flower Award for the best dance artist of the year 2004, the Vienna State Opera Ballet Club Award 2008, Medal of the President of the Trnava Region 2014, the Award of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic - Goodwill Envoy (2018).
In 2020 she received the Award of the Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic Award for her artistic mastery in classical and modern ballet and exceptional representation of Slovak ballet art abroad.
 
She created her first choreography Daneben [Alongside], for the dancers of the Vienna State Ballet and Thais for the SND Ballet.
 
She became the artistic director of the SND Ballet in February 2021, and since February 2022, she has been the director of the SND Ballet.