Full casting is today announced for La Strada, a new two-act ballet based on Federico Fellini’s cinematic masterpiece. Premiering at Sadler’s Wells from 25 – 28 January 2024, this major new production features a cast of 11 performers, from world-renowned dancers to leading independent artists.

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A deeply moving and touching work, La Strada tells the story of heroine Gelsomina, who is sold by her mother to strongman Zampanò and forced to follow him into a life of hardship and suffering on the road with a travelling circus. Exposed to this harsh new world, Gelsomina finds solace in the benevolent Il Matto, only to bear witness to his callous demise.

Performing in the lead role of Gelsomina is world famous ballerina and former Principal of The Royal Ballet and English National Ballet, Alina Cojocaru. She is joined by former Principal of La Scala Ballet Mick Zeni in the role of Zampanò, while former Principal of The Royal Ballet Johan Kobborg performs in the role of Il Matto.

Performing as Angels are Marc Jubete and David Rodriguez, both former Soloists at Hamburg Ballet. The cast is completed by Yaiza Coll (former Soloist with Hamburg Ballet), Winnie Dias (freelance dancer for English National Ballet and McNicol Ballet Collective), Maria Tolstunova (former dancer with Vienna State Ballet), Giulio Galimberti (New English Ballet Theatre) Lukas Hunt (McOnie Company’s Nutcracker) and Robert Weithas (former dancer with Vienna State Ballet).

Set to Nino Rota’s haunting scores, including the ballet suite from La Strada, and the soundtracks from Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and Il Casanova, choreographer Natália Horečná fuses classical ballet with contemporary dance to bring this powerful story to life, with set and costume designs by Otto Bubeníček and lighting by Andrea Giretti.

A former Principal dancer with The Royal Ballet and English National Ballet, Alina Cojocaru OBE is currently Guest Principal with Hamburg Ballet and a prominent freelance dancer performing a variety of lead roles with some of the world’s leading ballet companies. She has been regarded as one of the best dancers of her generation by numerous publications and has received a range of awards for her performances. In 2023 Alina was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 special honours, for services to ballet.

In 2019 Alina founded Acworkroom Ltd, an independent ballet and dance production company. With a focus dedicated to live performances, the company strives to develop and commission ambitious new original ballet and contemporary dance works for audiences in the UK and internationally as well as offering opportunities for freelance artists. The company’s inaugural performances were Alina at Sadler’s Wells in March 2020. La Strada is the first full length ballet to be commissioned by Alina.