Born: Saratov, Russia
Trained:National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art in Lithuania and Munich International Ballet Academy in Germany
Could you tell us 3 random things we don’t know about you?
I love rock climbing and would love to come back to this hobby of mine very soon.
I love motorcycles.
I love red wine.
What would you have done as a career if ballet hadn’t come your way?
My first childhood dream was to become a surgeon. Later on, after I had a chance to be part of few movies, I really wanted to be an actress. But once I started to dance, I found that dance was the right choice in my life.
Have you ever had an embarrassing moment performance-wise?
Absolutely! My first ever full-length ballet in a leading role was Nykia in La Bayadère. There is an entrance where Nykia walks down the stairs, looking for Solor. I slipped at the top of the stairs and slid on my bum all the way down, stair by stair. Luckily, the conductor waited for me to stand up and I continued the performance. It was an embarrassing moment as it was my first principal performance, but after that entrance, I had no fear of anything anymore. I thought the worst had already happened and now I can just have a good laugh about it.
When you have a day off, what’s your favourite way to spend it?
Being with my husband and son all day.
Where in the world would you like to see yourself living some day?
Somewhere sunny and warm all year long, by the sea or ocean. 
Whats is your philosophy towards your work ?
Working in the studio on myself every day to the fullest potential of my physical abilities.
Always be as hard on myself as I am with others.
Stay true and be realistic to myself, be open minded and truly see what’s good and what’s bad in myself.
Do all the work in the studio, so onstage I can just let go and dance with my heart and soul.
Always show respect to my colleagues at work. Everyone works so hard in this profession that simple acknowledgement and support on difficult days makes the atmosphere and environment pleasant for everyone to work in.
Milk chocolate or dark?
Milk with some nuts.
What’s your definition of a successful ballet dancer?
Success cannot be measured in this art form, as it easily can be done in sports by numbering the achievements and records reached. In ballet, every individual’s success is reflected in their own personal journey of their career because every dancer has a different goal to reach through their years onstage. 
What’s your definition of a successful ballet dancer?
Success cannot be measured in this art form, as it easily can be done in sports by numbering the achievements and records reached. In ballet, every individual’s success is reflected in their own personal journey of their career because every dancer has a different goal to reach through their years onstage.
One day I would like to look back on my career and be happy with the work that was done. For me, to be happy with the work that I did is already a success as I am a very picky person towards myself. I would be very glad to feel satisfied at the end of my career with all the roles that I created and performed. I also feel that at the end of my career success would reflect the work that has been done by incredible coaches and unique individuals that helped me along this journey of being a professional ballet dancer I do not have a goal that I would like to reach at the end of my career but it is so much more than the amount of roles danced, countries traveled or companies I dance with and it cannot be measured by ‘successful’ or ‘not successful.’
What’s the biggest misconception of you and why?
That it all comes easily and dancing comes naturally. I think most of us are born with bodies and abilities that are not perfect as I think perfection does not exist anyways and each of our imperfections makes us more interesting as dancers and artists. We create and mould our bodies day by day and what we create is an illusion of ‘perfection’ onstage. The performance, the end result of our daily work, is an art. Art we are able to create with our bodies and mind. The ability to create something magical with the appearance of perfection is the goal. I feel that often the misconception is that dancing is easy and people see just the end result of the performance and the glamour that comes with it but not the work that has gone in and the physical exhaustion that each dancer goes through in order to make it look ‘easy’ onstage. 
Words of advice for young dancers?
Work as hard and intelligently as you can while you are young. With time, the hard work will pay off. Find something special about yourself and see what makes you different and unique from other dancers. In order to have intelligence in the roles you dance, you must explore in life outside of ballet and keep learning about yourself. Stay humble, listen, have an open mind and endless curiosity. Push yourself to go outside of your comfort zone as the possibilities of discovering something new in yourself are endless.
What is the advice you have been given?
Be honest with yourself. Don’t complain, find the positive. Figure out exactly what makes you unhappy and change it. Simply move on! Whatever happens, Life goes on! 
Read Jurgita’s bio, https://national.ballet.ca/Meet/Dancers/Principals/Jurgita-Dronina
See Jurgita onstage with The National Ballet of Canada during the 2018/19 season, national.ballet.ca
