Laura Graham
Finishing up 18 full time seasons in 2024 as Senior and Principal Ballet Master with Dresden’s Semperoper Ballett, where she has helped build and support the present company since 2006, Laura is jumping out to share all she’s learned with dancers around the world. Since the year 2000, she has staged William Forsythe Ballets in many leading companies as well as being an International Guest ballet teacher and coach.
During a 26 year performing career she was a dancer in Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt performing leads in ‘In the Middle Somewhat Elevated, Artifact, 2nd Detail, and most notably in the original cast of ‘The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude', and 'Neue Suite’s Handel 1 & 3.
Beforehand as a Principal ballerina with Royal Winnipeg Ballet in Canada, she performed the main roles in many classical ballets such as Swan Lake, La Bayadere, Giselle & Myrta, Luisa in Neumeier’s Nutcracker, along with neo-classical favourites Rudy van Danzig’s 3rd Song of Four Last Songs, Juliet in his Romeo and Juliet, and Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de deux.
The years in Canada involved approximately 20 weeks a season touring domestically and internationally, as well as performing an eclectic repertoire while working with many choreographers on new creations.
At the age of 25 she achieved a long-term dream by attending the Varna International Ballet competition, receiving the top award. Laura has also enjoyed experiencing acting and singing on stage, some film work and cartoon dubbing. Being an avid questioner of how to find different approaches for new experiences and outcomes, she has certifications in Gyrotonic & Gyokinesis, Yin Yoga, is a Zena Rommett Floor-BarreTM instructor, and holds a German Theater Teacher's certificate based on the Kyiv Vaganova syllabus. To keep a bit of adrenaline going after her stage career and to continue observing how gravity affects us, she’s become a Rescue Scuba Diver and is in training to become a Glider plane pilot.
She loves collaborating with dancers to find their unique direction for themselves. It’s always possible to find the how if we know the why.