During Saturday's gala evening at the National Theatre, twenty winners of the 2025 Thalia Awards were announced. They received the awards not only for their extraordinary stage performances, but also for their lifetime mastery in various fields of theatre arts.
The Thalia Awards 2025 were presented at the National Theatre in Prague
The Thalia Awards 2025, prestigious awards presented for the 32nd time by the Actors' Association to the most prominent figures in Czech theatre, were ceremoniously presented this evening in the historic building of the National Theatre in Prague.
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In the category Ballet, Dance, and Movement Theatre, the award went to:
ROMINA CONTRERAS
Role: Manon
Production: L’Histoire de Manon
Choreography: Kenneth MacMillan
Music: Jules Émile Massenet
Premiere: February 20, 2025
National Theatre, Prague
Romina Contreras is predestined for the role of Manon, which she danced with technical confidence, elegance, and charm. In her partnering work, she was at times a support to her dance partner. She colours her Manon with a whole range of character nuances. She is a contradictory girl, wavering between romantic feelings and a desire for material glitz, a character moving from vanity to a hunted and resigned woman. Her interpretation of the tragic finale is captivating.
FEDERICO IEVOLI
Role: Des Grieux
Production: L’Histoire de Manon
Choreography: Kenneth MacMillan
Music: Jules Émile Massenet
Premiere: February 20, 2025
National Theatre, Prague
Federico Ievoli is a mainstay of the Czech National Ballet company, where he performs all the roles entrusted to him across genres with the highest quality. The role of Chevalier des Grieux in the ballet L'Histoire de Manon, one of the jewels of dance literature, found him in top form. Ievoli creates a fascinating portrait of a tragic romantic character. He is the embodiment of love that transcends reason and moral principles; he is willing to sacrifice everything for his love of Manon. He applied his superb technique particularly in the adagio passages, in which his exceptional elegance and fluid movement stand out. He used his experience as a principal dancer to create a dramatic arc in which he gradually transforms from an innocent young man into a man broken by love and fate. His performance ranks among the most distinctive creations of the past season.
The Lifetime Achievement Award in the category of Ballet, Dance, and Movement Theatre was presented to:
ALICE KVASNICOVÁ (1942)
Alice Kvasnicová is one of the most prominent figures in Czech ballet. She was introduced to dance through figure skating, which she had been practicing since the age of six at the Sokol Zbrojovka club in Židenice, but she soon became more captivated by the stage than by the ice. On the recommendation of her coaches, she began attending Ivo Váňa Psota's ballet school at the State Theater in Brno, where she discovered her true passion for dance. At the age of ten, she appeared on stage in minor roles in the ballets Cinderella and The Cunning Little Vixen. After six years of study, she graduated from ballet school with excellent grades and in 1957 she enrolled at the Brno Conservatory, which she left after a year due to an offer of engagement at the Opava Theater. Under the guidance of choreographer Hana Machová, she created her first significant roles there between 1958 and 1962, including the Fisher Girl in The New Odyssey (1960), the title role in Nikotina (1960), and Donna Anna in Don Juan (1961).
In 1962, she accepted an offer from Emerich Gabzdyl, then head of the Ostrava ballet, and became a member of the State Theater in Ostrava, where she worked until 1992, becoming a soloist in 1967. Over more than three decades, she played dozens of leading roles, including Dorotka in Ondráš (1967), Sexyllia in The Lucky Seven (1968), the Evil Sister in Cinderella (1971), Myrtha in Giselle (1975, 1984), Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (1976), and Zobejda in Scheherazade (1979). She excelled in her soulful expression and extraordinary sense for dramatic characters. In 1975, she received the Czech Literary Fund Award for her role as the Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty. Later, she also worked as an assistant choreographer and collaborated on a number of ballet, operetta, and drama productions. After retiring from her active career, she remained loyal to the theater. To this day, she works as an usher in the foyer of the Jiří Myron Theatre, where she is valued for her energy, kindness, and unwavering devotion to the theatre world.
In the Alternative Theatre category, the award went to:
MARTIN TALAGA
Role: performance
Production: PiNKBUS slovenský a žiadny iný (PiNKBUS Slovak and No Other)
Concept: Martin Talaga
Czech premiere: November 3, 2024
PiNKBUS, Prague
Martin Talaga is a Slovak dancer, choreographer, and performer who has been working in Prague for many years. As a drag queen in the project PiNKBUS slovenský a žiadny iný, he styles himself as a blonde femme fatale, in many ways reminiscent of the current Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic. In a role that requires a dose of courage, he moves and behaves spontaneously, remaining confident and authentic throughout. Depending on the situation, he sometimes adds to his eccentricity, at other times he is ironic or sarcastic. He always manages to establish excellent contact with visitors, whom he seduces and provokes.
The gala evening was held under the auspices of Minister of Culture Martin Baxa and Mayor of Brno Markéta Vaňková, with financial support from the statutory cities of Brno, Ostrava, Liberec, and České Budějovice.
Source: Thalia Awards, National Moravian-Silesian Theater