Karel Janečka, Soloist Emeritus of the NT Brno Ballet and Founding Member of Ballet Prague, Has Died

Karel Janečka, soloist emeritus of the NT Brno Ballet, ballet master, and teacher at the Brno Conservatory, died from a prolonged serious illness at the age of 88 on Friday 12 July [2024].

Karel Janečka was born in Brno. He studied under Olga Kvasnicová at the I. V. Psota Ballet School. In 1953 he joined the NT Brno ballet ensemble, where he was engaged until 1964 (from 1961 as a soloist), except for the period of mandatory military service between 1955 and 1957. Afterwards, he joined Ballet Prague as one of its founding members. He stayed for two years but returned to Brno in 1966. In 1984-89 he was the head of the opera ballet, and from 1989 he worked at the NT Brno Ballet as ballet master and teacher. He also taught at the Brno Conservatory between 1966 and 1996.

A tall and sturdy man, he was a remarkable presence on stage and also made an excellent dance partner. Karel Janečka was home especially in contemporary pieces; the roles he portrayed in Brno include the Sailor in The Ballad of the Sailor (1962); the title roles in Othello (1963) and Taras Bulba (1963), and The Bandit in The Seven Bandits’ Lover (1967). Among his major roles was The Pilot in Hiroshima, choreographed by Luboš Ogoun, at Ballet Prague (he also danced in the first version thereof in Brno); there, he made a perfect pair with Marta Synáčková.

(Source: Český taneční slovník. Tanec, balet, pantomima [The Czech Dictionary of Dance. Dance, Ballet, Pantomime], ed. J. Holeňová, Prague: Theatre Institute 2001, p. 117.)