Adji Cissoko

National Ballet of Canada
Alonzo King LINES Ballet (2014-present)

National Ballet of Canada's Adji Cissoko - helloiamadancer Adji Cissoko was born in Munich, Germany to a Senegalese father and German mother. She studied the Vaganova technique at the Ballet Academy Munich before moving to New York City to train on a full scholarship at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. Upon her graduation, Cissoko was met with a rush of offers from several companies—Dresden Semperoper Ballett, Boston Ballet II, and The Washington Ballet—but her professional career began at the National Ballet of Canada in 2010. During her first year in the corps de ballet, Cissoko was featured as the cover star of Pointe Magazine’s August/September 2011 issue.

In 2012, the Patrons’ Council Committee of The National Ballet of Canada awarded Cissoko the Patron Award of Merit.

Though Cissoko is passionate about classical ballet, she did not feel well-suited to NBoC as the tallest woman in the company. She left NBoC in 2014 to join Alonzo King LINES Ballet, with which she still performs now. Cissoko returned to the National Ballet of Canada briefly during a break from LINES to perform Swan Lake and has been a guest dancer with the New Chamber Ballet.