Dinna Bjørn is one of the few distinguished Bournonville-specialists in the ballet world of today.

After private studies in Copenhagen with Edite Frandsen, former ballerina of The Riga Opera Ballet, she joined The Royal Danish Ballet in 1964.

During the company´s USA-tour in 1965 Jerome Robbins handpicked her for the role of the young girl in «Afternoon of a Faun», and in 1966 she had her soloist debut in that part.

Two years later (1968) she won the bronze medal and a special prize for artistic interpretation at The International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria, where she did «Afternoon of a Faun» in the contemporary round, and in the third round danced Bournonville´s «Flower Festival pas de deux», shown for the first time at a Ballet Competition!

Her signature-role in Copenhagen, however, became Clara in «Nutcracker» by Flemming Flindt; a role he created for her in 1971. She danced it on stage for many years, and it was also broadcast on Danish television in 1972.

From early on she showed a special feeling and talent for the Bournonville style, and has danced almost all of the major roles and dance parts in the Bournonville repertoire, among them the Sylphide in «La Sylphide», Eleonora in «Kermes in Bruges», the cadet Edward in «Far from Denmark», the Pas de Sept in «A Folktale», the Pas de Six in «Napoli» and the Pas de Trois in «La Ventana».

In 1975 she also started teaching Bournonville Classes and giving lectures on Bournonville.

Together with Frank Andersen she took the initiative to create the touring Bournonville Group: «Soloists of The Royal Danish Ballet» in 1976, and under their directorship this group was touring worldwide with a Bournonville-repertoire every summer until 1989.

She made her own debut as a choreographer at a young choreographer's matiné at The Royal Theatre in Copenhagen in 1970. Her piece was called «8+1» and the music was composed by herself. In 1971 she created a piece to music by Danish composer Per Nørgård: «Anatomic Safari», performed by Danish Ballet Theatre in Copenhagen. This piece led to a long-lasting collaboration with the composer, where she among other things choreographed for his opera «The Divine Tivoli» (Jyske Opera, 1982) and«Siddhartha» (Stockholm, 1983). She also formed her own company, «Dinna Bjørn Dancers», that existed from 1976-1982 and for which she choreographed a number of works to music by Per Nørgård.

For The Royal Danish Ballet she has created two more ballets: «The Butterfly Mask» (1975), and «Hat-Trick»(1985).

In 1987 she left the Royal Danish Ballet to pursue a freelance-career as Bournonville teacher and producer, but in 1990 she was offered the position as artistic director for The Norwegian National Ballet, a post she accepted and held for twelve years. During her directorship the whole company went on the first big five-week tour to the north of Norway, visiting 17 cities with 17 different tailor-made programs, including a creation for each place done in collaboration with local artists.

Dinna Bjørn also choreographed two ballets for The Norwegian National Ballet»: «Den Røde Blusen» ( about the norwegian painter Oda Krohg ) for the Winter Olympic games at Lillehammer, and her version of «The Nutcracker» that had its première in 1994, where it became a very popular Norwegian Christmas ballet-tradition and remained in the repertoire for 23 years.

In 2001 she was offered the position as artistic director of The Finnish National Ballet in Helsinki, and stayed with that company until 2008. Together with Frank Andersen she staged a new production of Bournonville's «Napoli», with designs by Ramon Ivars, in 2005.

Through all the years since 1987 she has been active, staging Bournonville productions and teaching Bournonville courses worldwide. From 1997 to 2000 she was also Bournonville Consultant for the Artistic Director, Maina Gielgud, at The Royal Danish Ballet.

For the 2nd Bournonville Festival in Copenhagen in 1992 she reproduced the whole second act of «Napoli», and this version stayed in the repertoire of The Royal Danish Ballet until 2010. In 1995 she collaborated with her father, Niels Bjørn Larsen, and Kirsten Ralov on a revival of the whole ballet: «Konservatoriet eller Et Avisfrieri», in 1997 she staged «La Sylphide» for the company, and in 2000 she directed a new production of «Kermes in Bruges» together with Anne Marie Vessel. Just lately she, together with Nikolaj Hübbe, created a Bournonville-inspired piece for all the company's male dancers:"August 2.0", that had its première in January 2020.

Her most recent Bournonville productions abroad include «La Sylphide» in Mulhouse (2009), Toulouse (2011), Perth, Australia (2013), Nice (2015) Milwaukee, USA (2016) and Bordeaux (2020); «Napoli» in Moscow, Stanislavskij Ballet ( with Frank Andersen, 2009) and in Portland, Oregon (2018); «Le Conservatoire» (The dancing School) in Shen Yang, China (2011), Yekaterinburg (2013) and with The Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg (2014); «Pas de la Vestale» for the Biarritz Gala ( with Eric Viudes, 2014); «A Bournonville Divertissement» in Singapore (2015) and the reconstruction of Bournonville´s last ballet »From Siberia to Moscow» in Tbilisi, Georgia ( with Frank Andersen, 2009) restaged in 2019 under the new title: "Natalia". In 2016 she and Frank Andersen reconstructed another forgotten Bournonville ballet: "Ponte Molle" for The Royal Swedish Ballet, for which they received the Positano prize in 2017.

In March 2024 she choreographed a special version of Bournonville’s “The Bridal Procession in Hardanger” with soloists from The Norwegian National Ballet for the National Museum of Art in Oslo.

From 2009-2014 she was directing together with Eric Viudes, The Bournonville à Biarritz Summer Academy, and she is head of the faculty of The Bournonville Summer Academy in Tokyo, Japan, in Ogden, Utah USA, and for European School of Ballet (ESB) in Amsterdam, of which she is also the patron of honour.

She is also the creator and organiser of the yearly Bournonville Laboratory, that was initiated at The Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen in 2017.

She is Honorary Professor at The State Ballet Academy in Oslo and a regular resident Bournonville teacher at English National Ballet School in London, Bavarian Ballet Academy in Munich, Accademia di Danza in Rome, Tanz Akademie in Zürich and The Finnish National Ballet School, for which she in 2019 staged the full length “Napoli”.

Together with her Majesty, the danish Queen Margrethe II (as designer) Dinna Bjørn has created five Hans Christian Andersen fairy-tale ballets at The Pantomime Theatre in Tivoli, in Copenhagen: «Love in a dustbin» (2001), «Thumbelina» (2005), «The Tinder Box» (2007), «The Swineherd» (2009) and «The Steadfast Tinsoldier» (2013)

She has also been member of several distinguished juries of International Ballet Competitions in Varna, Paris, Helsinki, Shanghai, Jackson USA, Austin USA and New York.

Dinna Bjørn is the recipient of the Danish Order of Dannebrog, the Norwegian Order of Merit by King Harald and the Finnish Order of The White Rose.