SIMONA NOJA-NEBYLA /
Former Principal Dancer with the Vienna State Opera Ballet, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and the Opera National Romana Cluj-Napoca, Simona Noja has been the Director of the Vienna State Opera Ballet Academy for ten years.
She was a member of the Prix de Lausanne’s jury - among many others - and is the Founder/Director of the Cultural Foundation "Simona Noja" in Romania, Dance Arts Ballet School in Vienna - Austria, European Festival "Grand Assemblé" in Romania, and the International Ballet Competition "European Ballet Grand Prix" in Vienna, Austria.
Her stellar career as a Principal Dancer has taken her around the world, dancing in a vast repertoire of classical and contemporary ballets from "Swan Lake" to "In the Middle Somewhat Elevated" - by William Forsythe, dancing with some of the most famous and respected Ballet Companies, and partnered by many of the top male dancers of that time.
Born in Huedin, Romania, she speaks: Romanian, English, German, French, Italian Education: Training in the Olympic Team of sport gymnastics, Romania, having Béla Károlyi as coach (1978) Professional Ballet High School Cluj-Napoca, graduates at the top of her class (1986) Faculty of Philology at the University Babes-Bolyai Cluj-Napoca (1994); since 2018 PhD student at the University of Babes-Bolyai Permanent contracts as principal dancer (1986-2007): Romanian State Opera Cluj-Napoca (1986-1990), Romanian State Opera Bucharest (1990) International Ballet Rotaru Dance Company, Atlanta, USA (1990-1991), Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf-Duisburg, Germany (1991-1995), Deutsche Oper Berlin, Germany (1995-1997), Vienna State Opera, Austria (1995-2007) International Guest Artist as Principal Dancer (1986-2007): Teatro Colon (Buenos Aires), Teatro Municipal (Santiago de Chile), Ballet de Cuba (Havanna), Bolschoi Theater (Moskow), La Scala (di Milano), Balletto dell’Opera (Roma), Semper Oper (Dresden), Teatro San Carlo (Napoli), Royal Swedish Ballet (Stockholm), Finnish National Ballet (Helsinki), Stuttgarter Ballet, Frankfurter Ballet, Bayerische Staatsoper München, Seoul, “Manuel Legris et ses Étoiles” (France & Japan) Repertory: Classical roles as principal dancer: Swan Lake (7 versions), Don Quijote (3 versions), Giselle (2 versions), Sleeping Beauty (2 versions), Coppelia (2 versions), The Nutcracker (4 versions), Casablanca, Carmen (2 versions), Cinderella (2 versions), Firebird, La Bayadère, La Fille mal gardée, Le Corsaire, Manon, Onegin, Paquita, Raymonda, Romeo & Juliet, Snow Queen Principal roles in choreographies by: F.Ashley, G.Balanchine, R.Barra, B.Bienert, J.Clifford, J.Cranko, Nils Christe, B.Eifman, W. Forsythe, E.Gervasi, S.Gianetti, J.Mannes, J.Neumeier, R.Petit, H.Spoerli, R.Zanella
Stage Partners (among others): Jean-Guillaume Bart (Opera de Paris), Roberto Bolle (Royal Ballet), Juan Boix (Leipziger Ballett), Alessio Carbone (Opera de Paris), Jose Manuel Carreno (ABT), Manuel Legris (Opera de Paris), Vladimir Malakhov (Berlin State Opera), Sebastian Marcovici (New York City Ballet), Massimo Murru (Scala di Milano), Alejandro Parente (Teatro Colon), Giuseppe Picone (Teatro di San Carlo), Igor Zelenski (Kirov Ballet) Competitions & Prizes: 1990: Silver Medal at the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, USA 2001: Prize „The best female dancer of the year 2001“ from the international magazine „Danza & Danza“ Italy 2002: the cultural distinction „Steaua României“ (Title: Chevalier) Romania 2008: „Das Österreichische Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst I. Klasse“ Austria 2012: the cultural distinction „Steaua României“ (Title: Officer) Romania Teaching & Leadership Positions: 2000: Artistic Director of the Ballet company „Oleg Danovschi“ Constanta, Romania 2002: Founder of the Cultural Foundation „Simona Noja“ Cluj-Napoca, Romania 2006: Founder of Dance Arts Ballet School -with Boris Nebyla, Vienna, Austria 2006-2010: Teacher at Dance Arts: ballet, pointe technique & classical repertory 2006-2019: Masterclasses at International Festivals: ImPulsTanz Festival Wien, Japan Grand Prix, Taiwan Grand Prix, Festival do Brasil, YAGP Paris & New York, in Romania & Italy 2009-2011: Consultant of the Dance Department - Cultural Ministry of Austria 2010-2020: Ballet Academy of Vienna State Opera (Exec. Director 2010-2019 / Director 2019) 2012: Ambassador of the project „Cluj-Napoca –European Capital of Culture 2021“ 2015-2019: Founder of the European Ballet Festival for Ballet Schools “Grande Assemblé“ Cluj – Napoca, Romania 2017-2020: Founder and Director together with Boris Nebyla of the International Ballet Competition „European Ballet Grand Prix“ Vienna, Austria