Roman LAZÍK

First Soloist, Vienna State Ballet

While studying at The Eva Jaczová Dance Conservatory in Bratislava, Mr Lazík attended a number of international ballet competitions. He was finalist of ballet competition in Paris, at the Eurovision Contest of Young Artists in Gdansk and the Prix de Lausanne (Switzerland), where he was awarded scholarship at the Boston Ballet School. He was the laureate at the Czechoslovak competition in Brno and ÖTR Contest in Vienna. As the first Slovak dancer he received the medal at the prestigious ballet competition in New York. In his final year at the Conservatory he received a contract as a soloist at the Slovak National Theatre.

He is the laureate of the 1996 Phillip Morris Ballet Flower Award for the Most Promising Talent of the Year and Best Male Dancer in Slovakia in 1997, the Award by the Slovak Prime Minister and that of the Slovak Literary Fund. After a brief spell at the Slovak National Theatre, Mr Lazík went on to Pretoria (South Africa) and Israel, to return to SND Ballet for a season as the principal soloist. His path then took him to the Bavarian State Ballet in Munich where he was, for seven years, the first soloist. He then went on to the Vienna State Ballet where he has been the first soloist since 2010.

He grew into the danseur noble with interpretations of the key roles within the classical repertoire, including those of

  • Prince Siegfried (Swan Lake),
  • Prince Albrecht (Giselle);
  • Prince Nutcracker (The Nutcracker),
  • Prince Désiré (Sleeping Beauty);
  • Jean de Brien (Raymonda);
  • Solor (La Bayadère);
  • James (Sylfidea) and many others.

His portfolio includes solo parts in the acclaimed ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Roland Petit, John Cranko, Kenneth MacMillan, and others. Mr Lazík also collaborates with some of the finest contemporary choreographers, such as Jiří Kylián, Mats Ek, John Neumeier, William Forsythe, Hans van Manen, or Boris Eifman.

Throughout his career he danced at the most prestigious stages worldwide, including the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, as well as in Paris, Tokyo, Toronto, Berlin, Hamburg, Dresden.  At the Vienna State Ballet, he currently features in Jewels (choreographed by George Balanchine), along with a fellow native Slovak, the soloist Nina Poláková.

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