From earliest childhood Lucia Lacarra knew that she was born to be a ballerina. Whenever she saw pictures of the ballet school in Monte Carlo, sponsored by Grace Kelly, she cried because she still had no chance to dance. It was only when in her small Basque hometown a studio was opened that she was able to begin with lessons. She was ten at that time. Soon she was sent to a summer course directed by Rosella Hightower. There Lucia�s mother was strongly advised to support her daughter''s obvious talent. So she was sent to San Sebasti�n to Mentxu Medel who worked with Lucia for three years in a completely unselfish way to prepare her for the audition to Victor Ullate�s school in Madrid. Already in her second year there she was given a contract to the Ballet de Victor Ullate. She was just fifteen when she danced Balanchine�s Allegro Brillante. In the course of four seasons this was followed by Concerto Barocco, Fokine�s Les Sylphides, four works by Hans van Manen, Nils Christe�s Before Nightfall, as well as four pieces by her mentor Ullate who gave her the necessary self-confidence. In 1994 she joined Roland Petit�s Ballets de Marseille as principal. Petit immediately entrusted her with the role of Esmeralda, with Patrick Dupont as her partner, in Notre Dame de Paris, replacing Dominique Khalfouni. From Roland Petit she learned above all to always be emotionally present on stage and she felt that in this company everything was danced in a somewhat more classical style. Within three years she danced the leading roles in seven ballets by Roland Petit, four of which were created on her, most notably Ang�lique in Le Gu�pard and, as partner of Nicolas Le Riche, in the famous Le Jeune homme et la Mort. In her pursuit of classicism she then decided to join the San Francisco Ballet. Under the direction of Helgi Tomasson she could dance Giselle, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty for the first time, i.e. some of the classical roles that a young ballerina has to master. The Cage, In the Night and Dances at a Gathering by Jerome Robbins became part of her repertoire, as well as six Balanchine ballets, from Serenade to Jewels, and Victor Gsovsky�s Grand Pas Classique, three ballets by Helgi Tomasson, MacMillian�s The Invitation, van Manen�s Black Cake, Nacho Duato�s Without Words, Roland Petit�s L''Arl�sienne and Desdemona in Lar Lubovitch�s contemporary Othello.

Lucia Lacarra has joined the Bayerisches Staatsballett with the 2002/2003 season in order to return towards the leading European choreographers. In the course of the first three months in Munich she danced Raymonda, Tatjana and Odette/Odile as well as the third pas de deux of In the Night, always together with her partner of many years, Cyril Pierre who has also joined the company as principal. Together they are guests in the big theatres around the world. She also danced in Portrait John Neumeier in Jupiter Symphony and In the Blue Garden. In the autumn 2003 she danced Louise in John Neumeier''s The Nutcracker as well as Titania/Hippolyta in his A Midsummer Night''s Dream and the title role in Ivan Li�ka''s new production of The Sleeping Beauty.

Lucia Lacarra was awarded with the Prix Nijinsky in Monte Carlo in December 2002, followed by the Prix Benois which she won in Moskau in April 2003. She was nominated in 2004 and 2005 for the Merkur Theaterpreis in Munich. In November 2005 she was awarded with the Spanish Premio Nacional de Danza 2005. This prize, endowed with 30.000,- Euro is one of the highest awards the Spanish government gives out.