Biography

Evelina Godunova studied at the Royal Ballet School, Bolshoi Ballet Academy, and Riga Ballet Academy. She began her professional artistic career at Latvian National Opera at age 11 and went on to perform at Universal Ballet in Seoul as a soloist (2015), Staatsballett Berlin as first soloist (2018–2022), and the Polish National Opera Ballet (2022–2023). She has been recognized by numerous ballet competitions, including the 2017 Moscow International Ballet Competition as a Gold Medalist and Special Prize Winner.

She has performed leading roles in Patrice Bart’s Giselle, George Balanchine’s Jewels, John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet, Marius Petipa’s La Bayadère and The Sleeping Beauty, Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet, Victor Ullate’s Don Quixote, Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, and works by John Cranko, Alexander Ekman, William Forsythe, and Alexei Ratmansky.

In 2015 she won the Latvian Theatre Award for Best Dancer for her role as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and she was nominated as Best Dancer of the Year by DanceEurope magazine in 2018. She has performed as a guest artist for major galas and performances, including the Ballet Icons Gala in London, Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow at Lincoln Center in New York, and World Ballet Stars in Geneva.

Godunova joined Boston Ballet as a soloist in 2024.