Ioanna Avraam is a Cypriot ballet dancer, and a first solo dancer at the Vienna State Ballet since 2022. She is one of eight female first solo dancers at the Vienna State Ballet, its most senior dancers. [1]
Avraam was born in Nicosia, Cyprus. [2] [3] She lived with her grandparents until aged three, as her parents were studying overseas. [3] They then moved to Limassol, as her father was a refugee from Famagusta. [3] She trained at the Nadina Loizidou Ballet School in Limassol, and at the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung/Ballet Academy in Munich. [2]
She started her career with Cyprus' Diastasis Ballet and the Bavarian State Ballet. [2] In 2008, she joined the Vienna State Opera and Volksoper Ballet. [2] In 2010, she was promoted to semi-soloist in 2014 to soloist. [2] In September 2022, she was appointed a first solo dancer by the company's ballet director Martin Schläpfer. [4]
In October 2024, Avraam will be awarded a "Special Recognition" by the jury of the Helena Vaz da Silva European Award for Raising Public Awareness on Europe's Cultural Heritage. [5]