Maria Kousou alli – Dance Award
“The admirable calmness, the dominant confidence, the dazzling presence, the temperament, the rich imagination it gives to the roles and its excellent technique combined with the great precision and the fierceness of the movement”, made her stand out according to the reviews of the world press. She is the former soloist of the Vienna State Opera and the Hamburg Ballet of the mythical John Neumeier (Noymeyer) and current top dancer of the Opera Maria Kousoun.
Her relationship with her husband and her desire to start a family with him was the reason why a few years ago she decided to leave a very impressive career abroad and return it to our country.
Maria Kousou alli was born in Athens. From a child classical music simply enchanted her and the only way to express it was through the dance that started him, at a very young age and was dedicated to him as from the first moment she knew that this is what she wants to do in her life.
He was taught the technique of ballet next to K. Bogoeva, M. Rizova and M. Simeoneva, who soon distinguished her talent and trained her on a professional level. Immediately after graduating from the Higher Professional Dance School of Gregoriadou, where she studied on a scholarship, and took part in the Young Dancers competition in Paris.
There she was singled out and offered to become a member of the Vienna State Opera Ballet. He soon found himself in Austria where he became a soloist of the Vienna Opera, after within three months B. Malahoff gave her her first solo in Bayantera’s ballet and four months later she danced the lead role in Hans Van Manen’s Adagio Hammerklavier ballet.
This was only the beginning of a career that evolved very quickly, through distinctions made to her from the very first moment by all the choreographers in the classical, neoclassical and contemporary repertoire.
She declares herself grateful that she was taught and developed through outstanding collaborations of excellent teachers and the work of great and famous choreographers such as N. Makarova, B. Malahoff, R. Nureyev, T. Neumeyer, Balansin, Ashton, G.Killian, G.Forsyth, K.Wildon and many others.
Her first collaboration with the great choreographer John Neumeyer was decisive, as the desire was expressed by him to follow him to his ballet at the Hamburg State Opera. That’s how it happened.
A dream of a lifetime for her came true and it was the second time she was offered a place in a state opera without having to audition.
The days and hours in Hamburg were the most valuable in her career as, as she confesses, she experienced absolute professionalism at all levels.
As a soloist of the Hamburg Ballet he was immediately integrated into the group’s program and gained even more experience alongside the great choreographer and director.
John Neumeier trusts her starring roles in the ballets of “Requiem”, “Nizinsky”, “Preludes CV”, “Death in Venice” which is included in the film of the same name by Thomas Mann (2004), solo from “Magnificat” at a gala in Luxembourg, as in “Summer Night’s Dream”, “Nutcracker”, “The Lady with the Camellias”, “Badly Guarded Daughter”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Mahler” and “Mahler IIV”. He will also perform Gamzati in “Bayantera” in N. Makarova and the particularly demanding choreography of Chr’s “Polyphonia”. Weeldon. Ο J. Bubenicek choreographs “hate to hate you” in 2005 in “Unerreichbare orte” and is filmed.
Throughout her seven-year career abroad she travelled all over the world and danced to the biggest scenes, performances and Galas that left season.
Through this wonderful career, she remembers with emotion her collaboration with Sir Peter Ustinov at the Linz festival, where he recited on stage his own texts inspired by the history of Prometheus, while she was the star of the evening in the role of Athena. He does not forget to highlight this collaboration as one of the rare experiences an artist can experience.
She was awarded the Prix Special award at the Luxembourg Young Dancers’ Competition as a distinguished dancer. He danced three times at the Vienna New Year’s Concert, which is broadcast live around the world. Her repertoire covers a wide range of different roles and techniques. Some of them are from the ballets “Romeo and Juliet”, “Giselle”, “Spartacus”, “Nutcracker”, “Nizinski”, “Bayantera”, “Raumonda”, “Koursaros”, “In love Chopin”, “Petite mort”, “Theme and Varision”, Tchaikovsky pas de deux and many-many more.
Her return to Greece brings her to the Opera House as the ballet’s first dancer. She has inspired and created for her ballets such as Medea, The Bird of Fire, Romeo and Juliet.
At the same time he takes part in lectures on dance, dances in various performances in different parts of the world and takes part in seminars.He teaches ballet technique and repertoire learning at the professional school of ELS. He has created choreographies for The School of Lyrics, Prokoviev’s “Etudes”, Shostakovich’s “Skercho”, the ballet in Strauss’s opera “Bat”.
For the 2015-16 season he was inspired and created the new children’s production Opera-Ballet ‘Karmensitas’ for the Lyric stage.
Maria Kousou alli is a great artist and we are honored to be in and creating again in our country.
