Sirui Liu trained at Shanghai Dance School affiliated to Shanghai Theater Academy from 2000 to 2007 and went on to the Shanghai Dance College of Shanghai Theater Academy for four years. The desire to expand her dance horizons upon graduation led Liu to Cincinnati Ballet, for which she left her school and family in China. Liu won a gold medal competing in senior group of ballet of the Ninth Taolibei National Dance Competition in China in 2009 and the gold medal of senior group of Beijing International Ballet Invitational in China in 2010. Liu was invited to perform in Night of Ballet Gala in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia in June 2016. Sirui competed in 2014’s USA International Ballet Competition, progressing to the third and final round. Liu was named one of the Top 25 Dancers to Watch in 2017 by Dance Magazine. She has danced several Pas de Deux including Black Swan, Don Quixote, Esmeralda, Diana and Acteon, Le Corsaire, Paquita, Coppelia. She has also performed principal roles such as Odette and Odile in Swan Lake, Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Waltz girl in Balanchine’s Serenade, Tall girl in Balanchine’s Rubies, The Chosen One in Rite of Spring, Pas couple in Minus 16, amongst other ballets. Liu has also worked with internationally acclaimed choreographers such as Val Caniparoli, Yuri Possokhov, Kirk Peterson, Trey Mcintyre, Alejandro Cerrudo, Ohad Naharin, Annabelle Lope Ochoa, Nicolo Fonte, Garrett Smith, Justin Peck, Septime Webre, Jennifer Archibald, Ma Cong, Travis Wall, and more. Liu is the co-owner of Improvedance and Active Royale. She was named a Cincinnati Ballet Soloist for the in 2015 and promoted to Principal Dancer in 2017.
Dancer Q & A: Performing Odette/Odile in Swan Lake
February 12, 2020
It is one of the most iconic roles in all of classical ballet — Odette/Odile or White/Black Swan from Swan Lake. The role requires both technical mastery and emotional range. These two personalities are the polar opposites of good and evil. Principal Dancers Sirui Liu and Melissa Gelfin sat down to talk about what it’s […]