Virna Toppi

Born in the province of Milan, she began her dance studies at the "College of Art and Dance" in Seveso.

In June 2003, she joined the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala and then graduated after the regular 8 years of study. In 2011 she moved to Dresden where she joined the “Semperoper Ballet”. During the years with the Dresden company she dances in "Swan Lake" by Aaron Watkin, "Coppelia" by George Balanchine, "Sleeping Beauty" by Aaron Watkin, "La Bayadere" by Aaron Watkin, "An evening with the works” by William Forsythe and “Nutcracker” by Aaron Watkin. A year later she returns to Italy to join the Teatro alla Scala Ballet Company and in 2014 she is promoted to Soloist. In February 2018 she is promoted to Principal Dancer and in September 2019 she moves to Munich, where she joins the Bayerische Staatsballett as Principal Dancer and plays roles in "Coppelia" by Roland Petit, "Rubies" by George Balanchine, "The Nutcracker" and "La Dame aux camelias" by John Neumeier, "Spartacus" by Yuri Grigorovich and "Borderlands" by Wayne McGregor. In September 2020 she returns permanently to the Teatro alla Scala in Milan as Principal Dancer. During the La Scala years she dances in John Cranko's "Onegin", Roland Petit's "Notre Dame de Paris", Rudolf Nureyev's "Swan Lake", Kenneth Mac Millan's "Histoire de Manon", "Romeo and Juliet" by Kenneth Mac Millan, "Cinderella" by Mauro Bigonzetti, "The corsaire" by Anne Marie Holmes, "Il giardino degli amanti" by Massimiliano Volpini, "L’altra metà del cielo" by Martha Clark, "Don Quixote" by Rudolf Nureyev, Heinz Spoerli's “Cello Suite”, Petipa and Vikharev's “Raymonda”, George Balanchine's “A Midsummer Night's Dream” and many others. She has received several awards such as the Prix Ballet2000 Award in Cannes in 2016, the Leonide Massine International Dance Award in Positano in 2017, and in 2017 she received two other awards such as the "Commendations and praise from New Jersey Legislative District" Award at the Ballet Festival in Miami and the Academy Award for dance as Ballerina of the Year at Cinecittà World Rome. In 2018 she received the Danza&Danza Award, while in 2019 she was awarded with the Danza Capri International Award and the Sfera d'Oro National Award for Dance in Padua. In 2020 she is awarded with the Europa in Danza award in Rome.