Almira Osmanovic, prima ballerina from 1990 and CNT Split Ballet Artistic director from 2002 received her first ballet education in Zagreb with well renowned ballet pedagogue for children Silvia Hercigonja. As a very talented and prosperous ballet artist she won scholarship for Academy for Choreography and Ballet "Agripina Vaganova" in St.Petersburg where she graduated in the class of famous pedagogue Ludmila Safronova.
In 1979, she became a soloist of Croatian National Ballet in Zagreb and very soon she became a principal dancer. Her repertoire includes all principal roles in classical, contemporary and national ballet titles. From 1990 she is national primaballerina.
Repertoire: Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Coppelia, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Raymonda, Le Corsaire, Diana and Acteon, Paquita, Graduation Ball, Serenade, Devil In The Village, The Gingerbread Heart, Carmen, Four Seasons, Triumph of Aphrodite, Medea, The Songs of Love And Hate, Bach Suite, Ballads Brought By The Wind, Miraculous Mandarin, Johannes Faust Passion and numerous other roles in contemporary works.
She worked with renowned choreographers like: Vaczlav Orlikowsky, Peter Breuer, Milko Sparemblek, Vasco Wellenkamp, Joseph Nagy, etc...
She made guest appearances on many stages in Europe, USA, Japan... She acted as permanent guest in Düsseldorf, Köln, Duisburg and Bern. She won numerous prizes on domestic and international ballet contests - the dearest of all is the Special prize for unique artistic creation won on 4th International Ballet Contest in Osaka, Japan (1984).
From 1994-2002 she was the Artistic Directress of Croatian National Ballet in Zagreb. From 2002 Almira Osmanovic is the Artistic Directress of the Ballet of Croatian National Theatre from Split.
Since then the tradition of classical ballet in Split has been restored in the best possible manner with Les Sylphides, Cadet’s Dance, Nutcracker, Don Quixote currently on the repertoire. The premiere in February 2006 - the first complete Swan Lake by the CNT Split Ballet proved the value of the entire troupe who gave two premiere performances with two fully in-house casts, without a single guest dancer. Lately the company toured abroad with performances of modern repertoire in Israel (Karmiel International Dance Festival), Germany (at the opening of the Pfalzbau Theater in Ludwigshaffen season), Italy (Prato), Spain (Madrid International Dance Festival), Slovenia (Slovenian National Theatre in Maribor), Latvia (Riga - 11th International Baltic Ballet Festival).