Leroy Mokgatle
Leroy Mokgatle | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1999 (age 26–27) South Africa |
| Occupation | Ballet dancer |
| Career | |
| Current group | Berlin State Ballet |
| Former groups | |
Leroy Mokgatle (born 1999) is a South African ballerina. She is currently a demi-soloist at the Berlin State Ballet in Germany. She previously danced with Béjart Ballet and Ballett Zürich.
Early life and training
Mokgatle was born in South Africa and, as a transgender woman, she had been assigned male at birth.[1] Her mother died when Mokgatle was seven years old, at which time she was raised by her grandparents and members of her extended family.[2]
She began taking ballet classes when she was eight years old through a program at her school.[3] She attended the Art of Motion School in Johannesburg.[4]
In 2014, she won the Youth America Grand Prix finals and, in 2015, she won gold and was the recipient of the Margot Fonteyn Audience Choice Award at the Genée International Ballet Competition.[3][5] In 2016, she danced Solo for Diego at the Prix de Lausanne, earning the Audience Choice Award and a scholarship to train at The National Ballet Academy of Amsterdam.[5] It was the first time a South African had placed at the Prix de Lausanne since Ann Wixley in 1988.[5][2]
Career
Mokgatle moved to Switzerland and joined Béjart Ballet in Lausanne in 2019.[3] While in the company at Béjart Ballet, she began training en pointe and learning traditionally female-gendered choreography under the artistic director Gil Roman.[3] During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was cast in an online revival of La Porte, a solo originally choreographed by Maurice Béjart for Maïna Gielgud in 1970.[3] After that, Mokgatle began dancing female roles with the company more regularly.[3]
In 2022, Mokgatle joined Ballett Zürich, having auditioned for the company performing both male and female technique.[3]
In 2023, she was followed artistic director Christian Spuck from Ballett Zürich to Berlin State Ballet in Germany, becoming a member of the corps de ballet there and making her debut in December 2023 as the Fairy of Wisdom in The Sleeping Beauty.[3] In her first season with the Berlin State Ballet, she also danced in William Forsythe's Approximate Sonata 2016 and Blake Works I.[3] In 2024, she was promoted to the rank of demi-soloist.[3] Mokgatle's repertoire at Berlin State Ballet includes Fearful Symmetries, Symphony in C, Wunderkammer, Swan Lake, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.[1][3]
References
- 1 2 Horakh, Andrea (8 August 2026). "Leroy Mokgatle's trailblazing style". Deutsche Welle. Bonn, Germany. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
- 1 2 Cohan, Michelle (13 July 2016). "Meet South Africa's Billy Elliot". CNN. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Bauer, Claudia (1 December 2024). "Leroy Mokgatle Lives Her Dream at Staatsballett Berlin". Dance Magazine. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
- ↑ Jays, David (26 January 2016). "Teen ballet sensation Leroy Mokgatle: 'There is no plan B'". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 Maslowski, Mary Beth. "Leroy Mokgatle, one of South Africa's rising ballet stars". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
- Living people
- 1999 births
- 21st-century ballet dancers
- Ballett Zürich dancers
- Béjart Ballet dancers
- Berlin State Ballet dancers
- LGBTQ ballet dancers
- LGBTQ people of African descent
- South African ballerinas
- South African expatriates in Germany
- South African expatriates in Switzerland
- South African transgender women
- Transgender dancers