Greta Hodgkinson O.Ont (born August 13, 1973) is an American-Canadian ballet dancer. She was a Principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada until she stepped down in 2020. She continues to perform freelance and is Artist-in-Residence of the National Ballet.
Early life and training
Hodgkinson was born in Providence, Rhode Island. She is of Armenian, English and French-Canadian descent. She took part in dancing, ice-skating and gymnastics as a child. From 1983 to 1985 she trained at Festival Ballet Providence, now Ballet RI with Winthrop Corey and Christine Hennessey. She was eleven years old when she moved to Canada to further her training at Canada's National Ballet School in Toronto, skipping seventh grade. She was mentored by ballet mistress Magdalena Popa.
Continuing education
She took courses at Harvard Business School Online from 2020 to 2022, acquiring certificates in Leadership Principles, Negotiation Mastery, Power and Influence for Positive Impact, and Specialization in Leadership and Management.
Career
National Ballet of Canada
At sixteen, Greta Hodgkinson joined The National Ballet of Canada’s Corps de Ballet (1990 – 1993). She was promoted to Second Soloist (1993-1995), then First Soloist (1995-1996) and, shortly before her 17th birthday, reached the highest rank of Principal Dancer (1996-2020). During her career, she has danced virtually every role in the repertoire, such as the title role in Giselle, Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, as well as contemporary works by choreographers such as Jiří Kylián, Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne McGregor and James Kudelka.
During 2019/20, her final season at the National Ballet of Canada, Greta Hodgkinson appeared in Jiry Kilian's Petite Mort and danced one of her signature roles, Giselle, whom she never portrayed as a naive, love-struck weakling, making the mad scene chilling in its intensity. Throughout her career, critics raved about her performances: “The ballerina performing the compelling title character has to go from a tremulously innocent girl, to madwoman, to unearthly spirit, and Greta Hodgkinson is among the best in the world in the role.” (Paula Citron, The Globe and Mail) "Hodgkinson joins the great Giselles of our time." (Gary Smith, The Hamilton Spectator) “In the demanding title role, Greta Hodgkinson is a wonder, both as dancer and actress.” (Bob Clark, Calgary Herald) “Her breezy jumps paint her as a confident, yet trusting woman, who initially has no reason to doubt her man. She is also a technical dynamo, nailing every slow, sustained balance and complex turning sequence.” (National Post)
Scheduled a few days before the pandemic shut down theatres throughout the world, her final performance was in the role of Marguerite in Frederick Ashton's Marguerite and Armand, partnered by Guillaume Côté. The ballet was acquired in her honour by Karen Kain and the National Ballet, as Greta Hodgkinson had expressed the desire to dance a new role rather than reprise a past one.
International Guest Artist
As an International Guest Artist, Greta Hodgkinson performed in over 72 cities and 16 countries. She was invited to dance with the top major ballet companies, including the Mariinsky Ballet, Teatro alla Scala, The Royal Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, The Australian Ballet, Munich Ballet and Teatro Comunale di Firenze. She has also appeared in many international galas in America, Asia and Europe including the Opening Gala of the Royal Opera House (London), the State Kremlin Palace (Moscow), Gala des Etoiles (Montreal), Stars of the 21st Century (Paris and Toronto) and the Opening Gala of Teatro alla Scala (Milan).
In 2003, Ms. Hodgkinson appeared at The 10th World Ballet Festival in Tokyo, Japan, the world’s largest and most prestigious dance festival, where she performed with frequent partner Roberto Bolle, considered one of the greatest male dancers of his generation. Over their careers, they danced together in more than 26 cities worldwide and developed a much-celebrated partnership. The famed Japanese dancer from the Royal Ballet, Tetsuya Kumakawa, invited Ms. Hodgkinson to tour Japan dancing Swan Lake with him and his company, K-Ballet where they performed to critical acclaim. Apart from Mr. Bolle and Mr. Kumakawa, Ms. Hodgkinson was sought after by many renowned artists including Carlos Acosta, Marcelo Gomes, Guillaume Côté, Massimo Murru, Laurent Hilaire, Federico Bonelli, Robert Tewsley, Zdenek Konvalina, Jason Reilly, Evan McKie, Steven McRae and Matthew Golding.