Eugenie Skilnand

Eugenie Skilnand utdannet ved Operaens Ballettskole, Statens Balletthøgskole og School of American Ballet i New York.
Skilnad begynte i Nasjonalballetten som aspirant i 1998, ble ansatt i 2000 og i 2011 utnevnt til solist. Samme år fikk hun Rolf Gammleng-prisen, hvorpå hun i 2012 ble tildelt både Wilhelmsen-prisen og Kritikerprisen. Sistnevnte fikk hun for sin tolkning av rollen som Marie i Spucks ballett Woyzeck, en rolle som ble kreert for henne.

Skilnand har danset klassiske hovedroller som Aurora i Tornerose, Julie i Romeo og Julie, Tatjana i Onegin, tittelrollen i Giselle, Anna Karenina og Askepott, Sukkerfeen & Clara i Nøtteknekkeren, Carmen og Micaëla i Scarletts Carmen – en ballett i tre akter, Ildfuglen i Scarletts Firebird, og tittelrollen i MacMillans Manon. Hun har gjort seg bemerket i hovedrollen i Duatos White Darkness og Without Words, i Shoot the Moon av Lightfoot og León, og som Blanche i Neumeiers En sporvogn til begjær
– sistnevnte ble hun også nominert til Kritikerprisen for. 
I Moum Aunes kritikerroste Hedda Gabler høsten 2017 var hun medskapende til egen koreografi i rollen som Thea Elvsted.

Hun har vært solist i en rekke balletter av Balanchine (som Agon, Apollo og Symfoni i C), Forsythe (Workwithinwork, In the middle somewhat elevated og The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude) og Kylián (blant annet Bella Figura og Symphony of Psalms). Skilnand har også fått roller skapt for seg i Rushtons On the Adjacent Sides, Strømgrens Suite, Bjørnsgaards Standard Arabesque, Dawsons dancingmadlybackwards, McGregors Chroma.

Skilnand avsluttet sin karriere som Solist ved Nasjonalballetten i 2020. I tillegg til å være gjestende ballettpedagog, har hun har videreutdannet seg som mental coach for scenekunstnere.

Foto: Maiken Mathisen

Eugenie Skilnad – english bio
Eugenie Skilnand is born in Oslo and trained at The Norwegian National Ballet School, The
Norwegian National Academy of Dance and the School of American Ballet in New York.
Skilnad began her career with The Norwegian National Ballet as an apprentice in 1998, became a full member of the company in 2000 and was appointed Principal Dancer in 2011. That same year, she won the Rolf Gammleng Dance Award, after which she won both the Wilhelmsen Award and the Critics’ Award. The latter was awarded for her interpretation of the role of Marie in Spuck’s ballet, Woyzeck, a role created specifically for her:
«Eugenie Skilnand created a fantastic character with a vulnerability and performance so gripping that it brought one to tears», wrote the jury.

Skilnand has danced classical principal roles as Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, the title role in Giselle and Cinderella, and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. She has starred in Duato’s White Darkness, in Shoot the Moon by Lightfoot and León, and as Blanche in Neumeier’s A Streetcar Named Desire – for which she was also nominated for the Critics’ Award. 
In 2017 she co-created her own choreography for the part as Thea Elvsted in Moum Aunes acclaimed Hedda Gabler.
She has danced solos in various ballets by Balanchine (such as Agon, Apollo and Symphony in C), Forsythe (Workwithinwork and The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude) and Kylián (including Bella Figura and Symphony of Psalms). Skilnand has also had roles created for her in Rushton’s On the Adjacent Sides, Strømgren’s Suite, Bjørnsgaard’s Standard Arabesque and Dawson’s dancingmadlybackwards.