Claudia Sovre

Claudia Sovre was born in Ljubljana, where she completed her ballet education in 1983 at the Secondary Ballet School under the mentorship of prima ballerina Magda Vrhovec. At the same time, she graduated from the Secondary School of Design and Photography and completed music school with a focus on piano.

After graduating, she joined the ballet ensemble of the Slovenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Ljubljana, where she remained for three seasons. Her curiosity and passion for new challenges led her to the Croatian National Theatre (HNK) in Zagreb, where she danced for six seasons. In the 1991/92 season, she returned to her home company in Ljubljana.

In the 2001/2002 season, she assumed the role of ballet assistant for a new production of Swan Lake (choreography by Iraida Lukashova), and in 2003 she was officially appointed as choreographic assistant. She began leading ballet classes for the Ljubljana ensemble and later expanded her teaching to various dance schools, workshops, and ensembles in Slovenia and abroad.

During her time at the Ljubljana Opera, Claudia also served as assistant to three artistic ballet directors (Darinka Lavrič Simčič, Irek Mukhamedov, Sanja Nešković Peršin), as a ballet coordinator, and a ballet producer.

In 2015/2016, she worked alongside Tomaž Rode, President of the Association of Ballet Artists of Slovenia, supporting the development of the newly founded Young Slovenian Ballet.

Claudia created her first choreography in 2009 to a piece by composer Nana Forte, which won first prize at a prestigious international choral competition in Norway. She has participated in several choreography competitions organized by DBUS, achieving second and third place. For the Young Slovenian Ballet, she created a 30-minute piece titled Stories from Mars and Venus (Piran, August 2014), and a longer project The Legend of Prevalje (December 2014), in collaboration with the academic choir Mohorjan and set to music by Slovenian composer Lojze Lebič.

At the Slovenian National Opera and Ballet Ljubljana, she choreographed Donizetti’s opera L’Elisir d’amore, directed by Krešimir Dolenčič, and contributed as choreographer to several concerts and ceremonial events.

In 2019, she began collaborating with the Easy Talent Academy ballet school in Cairo, Egypt, as a guest teacher and jury president for their National Ballet Competition. She took on the role of Artistic Director of the school, but the collaboration was halted due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

That same year, she was invited to the Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman as an assistant choreographer for the world premiere of The Ring of the Dove.

She has also contributed for many years as a reviewer for the dance portal Parada plesa. From 2020 to 2024, she was appointed by the Slovenian Ministry of Culture as a member of the expert committee for performing arts for the Prešeren Awards—the highest cultural recognition in Slovenia.

In her dedication to continuous learning, Claudia enrolled in the undergraduate program at the newly established Alma Mater Europaea Dance Academy in 2016. As part of the first graduating class, she earned her degree in Ballet in November 2018, receiving the title of “Graduate Ballet Dancer and Choreographer (VS).” She is currently completing her master’s degree in Dance Pedagogy at the same institution.

In September 2023, Claudia embarked on an independent teaching career and founded her own ballet school, Ballet Pizzicato, with centers in Ljubljana and Lesce. She teaches using the renowned Vaganova method, adapted through contemporary pedagogical approaches to the individual needs and physical potential of each student.