Karen Nanesca

Karen Nanasca was born in Auckland, New Zealand. Hailing from an athletic family, she followed in their footsteps by studying ballet from the age of seven. Her natural talent was immediately noticed and nurtured by her teachers at the Mt Eden Ballet Academy. She won the New Zealand National Ballet Award in 2004, followed by a placing in the semi-finals of the Prix de Lausanne in 2005.

In 2006 she was the recipient of Elizabeth McDonald Scholarship, allowing her to cross the Tasman and join The Australian Ballet School.

Karen became a member of The Australian Ballet's corps de ballet in 2009 and was promoted to coryphée in 2012; she was promoted to soloist in 2018.

Karen retired from The Australian Ballet at the end of 2022.

Repertoire Highlights:

Giselle in Giselle (The Australian Ballet's Regional Tour), 2017, 2016
Fairy of Temperament in David McAllister’s The Sleeping Beauty, 2017, 2015
Diana and Actéon Pas de deux, 2017
3rd movement Soloist in George Balanchine's Symphony in C,2017
Wayne McGregor's Infra, 2017
Red Pas de deux in Ji?í Kylián's Forgotten Land, 2016
Stomper in Twyla Tharp's In the Upper Room, 2015
Cygnet in Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake, 2012 - 2015
Clara in Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker, 2014, 2019
Wayne McGregor’s Dyad 1929, 2013, 2009
Rose Fairy in Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker, 2019
Alice Topp’s Clay, Aurum and Logos

Classical and contemporary works by: Wayne McGregor, Paul Lightfoot, Sol Leon, Marco Goeke, Christopher Wheeldon, Alexander Ratmansky, John Neumeier, George Balanchine, Graeme Murphy, Jiri Kylian, Tim Harbour, Alice Topp, John Cranko, William Forsythe, Stanton Welch, Rudolf Nureyev, Stephen Baynes.

Competitions:

Prix de Lausanne
Genee International Ballet Competition
Alana Haines Australasian Awards
New Zealand National Ballet Award
Sir John Logan Campbell Trust Ballet Award
Performing Arts Competitions Association of New Zealand