Petra Conti

Petra Conti is an Italian ballerina. She is a former principal dancer with Los Angeles Ballet, the Boston Ballet and La Scala Theatre Ballet. She is now the artistic director of her own ballet company, Hollywood Ballet.
Before being promoted to principal dancer, she danced as a member of the corps de ballet with the Bavarian State Ballet.
She has danced as a guest principal dancer with Arena di Verona, the Great Russian Ballet, the National Opera of Ukraine, the Ballet Opera of Istanbul, the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Albania in Tirana and toured all around the world.
Since 2014 she holds the title of Ambassador of the Italian Ballet around the World.

Early life

Petra Conti was born on April 30, 1988, in Anagni but she grew up in Frosinone, Italy. Her father is Italian and her mother is Polish. Her mother and sister trained at the Academy of Ballet in Poland.
She trained at Szewczenko M.M. School of Ballet, until she moved to Italy. In 2006 she graduated with honors from the National Dance Academy in Rome.
She is a naturalized American citizen since March 2021.

Career

Petra Conti graduated at the National Academy of Dance in Rome under the coaching of Maestro Zarko Prebil and later joined the Mariinsky Ballet as a trainee, where she was assigned to work with Prima Ballerina , now the coach of Maria Khoreva.
At seventeen years old she was invited to dance as guest star in the Arena di Verona Ballet's Cinderella.
In 2008 she was a company member of the Bavarian State Ballet and a trainee at the Mariinsky Ballet. In 2009 she joined La Scala Theatre Ballet and was promoted to the rank of principal dancer in 2011. In 2013 Conti was invited by Mikko Nissinen to join the Boston Ballet as a principal dancer. She danced as a principal dancer with the company until 2017. Later that year she joined the Los Angeles Ballet as a resident principal guest dancer.
She has danced alongside ballet stars Roberto Bolle, Ivan Vassiliev, Zachary Catazaro, Massimo Murru, Daniel Camargo, Eris Nezha, Alexander Stoyanov, Stanislav Olshanskyi and many more.
Among the awards she received, the 2018 Glamour Talent Award, the 2007 and 2018 Positano Award, the Danza e Danza Award for Best Performer of 2011, the 2012 Roma in Dance Award, the 2013 Ciociaria Prize and the 2017 Capri Award.
Her name is mentioned in numerous ballet publications, and she has been featured in several TV programs and documentaries, including one on SKY Classica about her rendition of Giselle, Romeo and Juliet and Don Quixote.
She modelled for and was chosen as testimonial for fashion brands such as , , , , .
From 2017 to 2019 she was an artistic consultant at the State Ballet Academy in Verona, Italy. She is a resident ballet coach at and a guest ballet coach for University of South Carolina, Orange County School of the Arts, Master Ballet Academy and Southeastern School of Ballet.
She served as a for the 2023 Youth American Grand Prix.
From 2009 until 2011 Conti studied dramatic arts with Kuniaki Ida at the Arsenale Theater in Milan.
She has been named the Anna Magnani of Ballet for her interpretational skills.
In 2023 she founded , a ballet company based in Los Angeles.

Documentary and TV Show

She was the subject of a 2010 Sky Italia documentary titled Dancers of Tomorrow which focused on her performances in Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, and Don Quixote.
At age fifteen Conti was introduced by Italian iconic TV host Raffaella Carrá on her Show as "the future of Italian ballet in the world". In the show, teenage Conti was sent on a dream trip to Russia to dance a pas de deux alongside ballet superstar Roberto Bolle.

Personal life

Conti is married to principal dancer Eris Nezha. They reside in Los Angeles with their three rescue cats Frida, Misiu and Romeo.
She is currently earning her bachelor's degree in Science of Leadership at Northeastern University.
In 2016 Conti underwent surgery for kidney cancer. A cancer survivor, she has teamed up with for , a charity that raises funds through the sales of her autographed pointe shoes.

Repertoire

Source:

Giselle - Giselle
Kitri - Don Quixotte
Juliet - Romeo and Juliet
Tatiana - Onegin
Jewels - Emerald: I, II couple
Raymonda, Clemence – Raymonda
Lady of the Camellias - Lady of the Camellias
Civilization, Folgore - Excelsior
Titania - A Midsummer night dream
Aurora - Sleeping Beauty
Albachiara - L'altra Metá del Cielo
Marguerite - Marguerite and Armand
Principal Couple - Concerto DSCH
Juliette - Romèo et Juliette
Esmeralda - Notre-Dame de Paris
Odette/Odile - Swan Lake
In the Middle Somewhat Elevated
Odette/Odile - Swan Lake
Prima Ballerina - Etudes
Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen - Nutcracker
The Puppet Couple - Bella Figura
Fairy Godmother - Cinderella
Belong Pas de Deux
Bach Cello Suites
Eventide
Glove Seller - Gaîté Parisienne
Posthorn - Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Pas de Quatre
Cinderella - Cinderella
Giselle - Giselle
Sanguinic - The Four Temperaments
Second to Last
This is You -
Marie, Rose, Arabian Queen - Nutcracker
Odette/Odile - Swan Lake
Second Movement - Western Symphony
Les Chambres des Jacques
Serenade
La Sylphide
Aegina - Spartakus
Zingarella - La Traviata
Rusalka - Forest Song
Time
Blackstone
Agon
Terpsichore - Apollo
First Violin - Concerto Barocco
Nikiya - La Bayadere
Marguerite - Lady of the Camellias
Ghosts - Main Couple
Fool’s Paradise - Slow Couple
International Performances and Galas