Welcome to this special interview with Jozef Varga (Principal Het Nationale Ballet) and Casey Herd (Founder of Ballet Rising). We have heard many stories from dancers around the world, but what about the story of our own Casey?

“When dancers stop dancing, they have to re-invent themselves.”

Learn in this interview how Casey started from difficult beginnings to go on to shine as Principal at Het Nationale Ballet, one of the major companies in the world. How he took time out travelling after stopping with dancing, and discovered his passion to help ballet communities in far out of the way places grow and amplify their voices. Learn how he founded Ballet Rising to do this and give those dancers a true opportunity to shine internationally. And what does it take to be a principal dancer? Find out that and more in this great interview!

Jozef Varga: Following his career with the Czech National Ballet in Prague and the Swiss Zürcher Ballett, Jozef Varga (Nové Zámky, Slovakia) joined Dutch National Ballet in 2007, where he immediately received a contract as a principal.

Jozef trained at the Conservatoire for Dance in Bratislava and at the Académie de Danse Princesse Grace in Monte Carlo. He has won awards at several international ballet competitions and was awarded the Alexandra Radius Prize in 2010.

Jozef has danced all the important roles in the classical repertoire and is a much sought-after guest principal at international ballet galas. In 2012, the British magazine Dance Europe listed him in its top hundred of the best dancers in the world. In October 2020, he received a mention in the Critics’ Choice of the same magazine, in the category “Outstanding performance by a male dancer.”