Daniel Rajna
Encyclopedia
Daniel Rajna born 1968, London
, England
, is a South African ballet dancer. After gaining a BSc in applied mathematics at UCT, he trained at the UCT Ballet school, Cape Town
. He joined the former CAPAB Ballet in 1990, before leaving in 1997 to join PACT Ballet in Pretoria
. He returned to Cape Town
in 1999 and is now a principal dancer at the Cape Town City Ballet
. He is known for his partnership with friend, Tracy Li
. He and his girlfriend Leanne Voysey, a former Cape Town City Ballet
dancer, have a son Finn (born 18 July 2007). He is the son of composer Thomas Rajna
. He has performed as a guest artist in Hong Kong
, Zimbabwe
and Taiwan
. They were also both invited to the 2004 Miami Dance Festival. He retired in August 2007 after several performances of Camille.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, is a South African ballet dancer. After gaining a BSc in applied mathematics at UCT, he trained at the UCT Ballet school, Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. He joined the former CAPAB Ballet in 1990, before leaving in 1997 to join PACT Ballet in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
. He returned to Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
in 1999 and is now a principal dancer at the Cape Town City Ballet
Cape Town City Ballet
The Cape Town City Ballet Company, formerly known as the CAPAB Ballet Company, is based in Cape Town, South Africa.-History:The Cape Town City Ballet originates from the UCT Ballet Company, which was established by Dulcie Howes in 1934. This became the CAPAB Ballet Company under the directorship...
. He is known for his partnership with friend, Tracy Li
Tracy Li
Tracy Li born 1972, in Hong Kong, is a South African ballet dancer. She trained at The Christine Liao School of Ballet before receiving a scholarship from The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club to study at the Australian Ballet School. At age 16, she joined the Hong Kong Ballet Company, before she left...
. He and his girlfriend Leanne Voysey, a former Cape Town City Ballet
Cape Town City Ballet
The Cape Town City Ballet Company, formerly known as the CAPAB Ballet Company, is based in Cape Town, South Africa.-History:The Cape Town City Ballet originates from the UCT Ballet Company, which was established by Dulcie Howes in 1934. This became the CAPAB Ballet Company under the directorship...
dancer, have a son Finn (born 18 July 2007). He is the son of composer Thomas Rajna
Thomas Rajna
Thomas Rajna is a Hungarian-born composer and pianist, domiciled in Cape Town in South Africa since 1970. He started to play the piano and compose at an early age and studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music where he won the Liszt Prize in 1947. That year he left Hungary to settle in London...
. He has performed as a guest artist in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. They were also both invited to the 2004 Miami Dance Festival. He retired in August 2007 after several performances of Camille.
Awards
- Vita Award, 1999
- Balletomane Award for best male dancer, 1996, 2000, 2002 and 2006
- Daphne Levy Award for his partnership with Tracy Li, 2001
Notable roles
- Pluto in Orpheus and the Underworld
- Albrecht in GiselleGiselleGiselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...
- Florimund in The Sleeping Beauty
- James in La SylphideLa SylphideLa Sylphide is one of the world's oldest surviving romantic ballets. There were two versions of the ballet; the version choreographed by the Danish balletmaster August Bournonville is the only version known to have survived....
- Romeo in Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)Romeo and Juliet is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It is one of the most enduringly popular ballets...
- Nutcracker Prince in The NutcrackerThe NutcrackerThe Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
- PuckPuck (Shakespeare)Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow, is a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream that was based on the ancient figure in English mythology, also called Puck. Puck is a clever and mischievous elf and personifies the trickster or the wise knave...
in A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta... - Basilio in Don QuixoteDon Quixote (ballet)Don Quixote is a ballet originally staged in four acts and eight scenes, based on an episode taken from the famous novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus and was first presented by the Ballet of the...
- Crassus in SpartacusSpartacus (ballet)Spartacus, or Spartak, is a ballet by Aram Khachaturian . The work follows the exploits of Spartacus, the leader of the slave uprising against the Romans known as the Third Servile War, although the ballet's storyline takes considerable liberties with the historical record. Khachaturian composed...
- Armand in Camille