IOHNA LOOTS

IOHNA LOOTS

Iohna was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. After competing at the Prix de Lausanne, aged 16, she received a scholarship from Dame Merle Park to attend the Royal Ballet School.

While at school, she was privileged to be in the Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella productions. Other highlights included working with William Tuckett on Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture for the Royal Ballet’s Winter Gala, creating the lead girl in Christopher Wheeldon’s ‘Schubertiade,’ and working on a documentary for the Balanchine Foundation with Dame Alicia Markova.

After graduating, Iohna joined Cape Town City Ballet. Here, as a young dancer, she enjoyed the benefits of working in a smaller company, dancing in all the productions, notably the lead girl in Choo San Goh’s Configurations and Schubert Symphony, and Michaela in Veronica Paeper’s Carmen.

She subsequently spent 13 years with the Royal Ballet in Covent Garden. Iohna performed all the classical repertoire as a soloist and worked with world renowned choreographers like Wayne McGregor, Christopher Wheeldon, Liam Scarlett, David Bintley, Jacob Godani, and Will Tuckett. Iohna found great joy dancing the Ashton and Macmillan repertoire and always found the challenge of working with Patricia Neary on the Balanchine works rewarding.

After completing the Royal Ballet School Teachers Course, she moved to Sydney with her husband and young daughter. Iohna spent five years teaching the full time ballet program at Classical Ballet 121, training the next generation of professional artists and successfully staging excerpts of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, La Fille mal Gardee, La Bayadere, and Swan Lake. Iohna is also regularly teaching Company Class for the Sydney Dance Company dancers since 2019.

Iohna thoroughly enjoys her role as a coach and teacher at the Tanya Pearson Academy. Her love of nurturing, helping each dancer reach their full potential, and creating a positive workspace to thrive both mentally and physically, is at the forefront of her philosophy.