Zenaida Yanowsky

Raised in Spain, Zenaida Yanowsky trained with Anatol Yanowsky and Carmen Robles. After winning several ballet competitions, she joined Paris Opera Ballet in 1992. Soon after, she joined The Royal Ballet and was promoted to Principal in 2001, performing leading roles in the classical and contemporary repertories, working with such choreographers as Baldwin, Brandstrup, Bruce, Davies, Duato, Ek, Flindt, Forsythe, De Frutos, Kylián, Liang, Marston, McGregor, Page, Ratmansky, Scarlett, Tetley, Tharp, Tuckett, Yanowsky and Wheeldon (Queen of Hearts in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Paulina in Winter’s Tale). She features in 52 Portraits and the films Duet and The Sandman (Channel 4), Riot at the Rite and The Dying Swan documentary (BBC). With Tuckett she created work for the Whitechapel Gallery and Tate Modern. She won a National Dance award for her role in Elizabeth and was nominated for an Olivier Award. She retired as a Principal in 2017.