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His father, in cooperation with his mother, led a volunteer theater company, where he performed from his earliest childhood.

Vlastimil Harapes was a Czech dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, long-time member, soloist of the ballet of the National Theater in Prague, director, actor and artistic director of the International Conservatory Prague.

His first role was in the play East Wind , which he played at the age of five.

Harapes was the honorary president of the Balet Globa civic association.

In 1977, he signed the Anticharta (a signature campaign of prominent Czechoslovak mainly cultural figures, organized by the communist ruling power as a negative reaction to the declaration of Charter 77) .

He was the honorary chairman of the Special Olympics Movement for mentally disabled athletes.

Harapes sat as a judge in renowned international dance competitions.

After graduating from the Prague Dance Conservatory in 1965, he got a job in the ballet company of the National Theater (1966). He has been a soloist there since 1971.

In 1976 he received the title of "meritorious artist" and in 1989 the title of "national artist".

In1980 he was awarded Meritorious member of the ND (Národni divadlo = National Theatre Prague).

From 1990 to 2003, he worked as a choreographer and director of the ballet company of the National Theatre, and then worked there as a choreographer and ballet master.

In the 2016 PCR Senate elections, he ran as a non-party candidate for the ANO 2011 movement in District No. 25 - Prague 6 . With 13.30% of the votes, he finished in the 4th place and did not advance to the second round.

He danced on a wide range of world ballet stages, and from 1977 to 1983 he was a regular guest at the West German Rhineland Opera in Duisburg and Düsseldorf.

In 2011he received the Thalia Award for lifetime championship in the field of ballet.

He occasionally guested at the FX Saldy Theater in Liberec .

He performed in about 50 different dance performances.

He also studied dance in St. Petersburg , Russia , at the ballet school of the Small Academic Theater.

He was also active as a film actor, playing in a number of Czech films (e.g. Marketa Lazarová directed by Frantisek Vlácil or How to Pull a Whale Stool directed by Maria Polednáková ).

He was a judge in the dance competition "StarDance...when the stars dance" and in the Slovakian competition "Hvezdy na leda" .

He also taught classical dance in Italy and at the Dance Conservatory in Prague.