Mariana Dias

Brazilian Mariana Dias trained at the Escola Estadual de Danças Maria Olenewa, the Houston Ballet Academy in Texas, and the London Studio Centre, among others. In 1998, she was engaged by Vladimir Derevianko to join the ballet company at the Semperoper Dresden, where she performed in works by John Neumeier, Stephan Thoss, and Xin Peng Wang, as well as in world premieres by Mauro Bigonzetti, Ralf Dörnen, Krzystztof Pastor, and Robert North. In 2001, she moved to the Leipzig Ballet under the direction of Uwe Scholz and, from 2005, under Paul Chalmer, where she made her debut as Katharina in John Cranko's “The Taming of the Shrew.” She also danced solo and leading roles in choreographies and world premieres by Uwe Scholz, Paul Chalmer, George Balanchine, and Martin Chaix.
Mariana Dias has been a member of the Ballett am Rhein since 2009, as an active dancer until 2024 and as a ballet mistress from the 2024/25 season onwards. As a dancer, she has performed in numerous solo roles in works by Martin Schläpfer, Merce Cunningham, Mats Ek, Jiří Kylián, Hans van Manen, Twyla Tharp, Marco Goecke, Sharon Eyal, Azure Barton, Demis Volpi, Roland Petit, and Michèle Anne de Mey. As a ballet mistress, she has already supervised choreographies by Glen Tetley and William Forsythe and new creations by Mthuthuzeli November, Bridget Breiner and Dominique Dumais.
In the summer of 2025, she also completed her master's degree in dance education at the Palucca University of Dance Dresden.