Amy Watson

Last updated

Amy Watson (born 1981) is an American ballet dancer. She joined the Royal Danish Ballet in 2000, becoming a principal dancer in 2007. In 2011, she was honoured with the prestigious Order of the Dannebrog.

Contents

Early life

Watson was born in Washington D.C. As her father was in the military, the family were frequently on the move. While in England, she spent two years at the Royal Academy of Dance before attending a summer course with the Richmond Ballet in Virginia when she was 12. In Fredericksburg, Virginia, she attended courses with Avery Ballet. [1] She was also taught by George Balanchine dancers in Chautauqua, N.Y., after which she studied at the Pacific Coast Ballet Company in California. When she was 15, she attended the School of American Ballet in New York. [2]

Career

In 1998, Watson was selected to attend a three-week course given by Suzanne Farrell in Washington. She performed so well that Farrell signed her up to go on tour with her ballet company where she remained for the next two years. [2] In July 2000, she was invited to join the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen where she became a soloist in 2003 and a principal dancer in 2007. [3]

Her leading roles have included Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty , Odette/Odile in Swan Lake , Kitri and Mercedes in Don Quixote , Teresina in Bournonville's Napoli , and Olga in Onegin . [4] She has also performed in modernistic works such as The Cage , Chroma and Ohad Naharin's Minus 7. [5] Her role as Anita in West Side Story Suite also required her to sing. Although her brother is a Broadway performer, she found it quite a challenge. [6]

In early 2014, Watson became an exchange artist with the American Ballet Theatre where she debuted with Myrta in Giselle in Minneapolis. [3]

Awards

Shortly after Queen Margrethe II had seen her dancing Swan Lake in 2011, she was honoured with the Order of the Dannebrog. [1]

Related Research Articles

Daria Klimentová Czech ballet dancer, teacher and photographer

Daria Klimentová is a Czech retired ballet dancer, ballet teacher and photographer. She spent most of her career as a lead principal dancer at English National Ballet. She is currently a teacher at the Royal Ballet Upper School.

Evelyn Anne Hart is a Canadian ballerina and former principal dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

Peter Martins Danish danseur and choreographer

Peter Martins is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and John Taras as balletmaster in 1981. He retired from dancing in 1983, having achieved the rank of danseur noble, becoming Co-Ballet Master-In-Chief with Robbins. From 1990 until January 2018, he was solely responsible for artistic leadership of City Ballet.

Tamara Rojo Spanish ballet dancer

Tamara Rojo CBE is a Spanish ballet dancer. She is English National Ballet's artistic director and a lead principal dancer with the company. She was previously a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet.

Julie Kent (dancer) American ballet dancer

Julie Kent is an American ballet dancer; she was a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre from 1993 to June 2015. In 2016, she was named the artistic director of The Washington Ballet.

Nina Ananiashvili Georgian artist

Nina Ananiashvili is a Georgian ballerina and artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia. She has been described by the Daily Telegraph as one of the twelve greatest ballerinas of all time, and in 2002 was named Best Ballerina of the Year by the US Dance Magazine. Ananiashvili has been a prominent fixture of the Soviet, Russian and Georgian ballet scene for decades. Shortly before the fall of the Iron Curtain, in 1987 a New York Magazine critic praised Nina Ananiashvili as "the best thing about the Bolshoi's Giselle whether she appeared in the title role or as the queen of the wilis." In 2014, a film of her 1991 performance in Giselle with the Bolshoi ballet was released.

Gillian Murphy is a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre.

The Royal New Zealand Ballet is a ballet company based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was originally known as The New Zealand Ballet Company.

Maina Gielgud is a former British ballet dancer and a veteran ballet administrator. She was artistic director of the Australian Ballet from 1983 to 1996. She had a twenty-year career as a dancer in Europe and the United Kingdom. Gielgud directed the Royal Danish Ballet between 1997 and 1999. Until 2005, she held the artistic associate position at the Houston Ballet. She is a daughter of Lewis Gielgud and actress Zita Gordon and niece of actor John Gielgud.

Alexandra Ansanelli American ballet dancer

Alexandra Noel Ansanelli is an American ballet dancer.

Thomas Lund is the head master of The Royal Danish School of Ballet in Copenhagen. Lund admitted to The Royal Danish School of Ballet in 1986 aged 11. He became apprentice in 1991, member of the corps de ballet of The Royal Danish Ballet in 1993, soloist in 1996 and was appointed principal dancer in 2000. In September 2012 Lund retired as a Principal Dancer to become the head master of The Royal Danish School of Ballet.

Misty Copeland American ballet dancer

Misty Danielle Copeland is an American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history.

Beatriz Stix-Brunell American ballerina

Beatriz Eugenia Stix-Brunell is an American ballet dancer. She is currently a First Soloist of The Royal Ballet.

Dinna Bjørn Danish ballet dancer and choreographer

Dinna Bjørn is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. She has specialized dancing and directing the ballets of August Bournonville. Bjørn has also created five Hans Christian Andersen ballets for the Pantomime Theatre in Copenhagen's Tivoli.

Inge Mette Hønningen is a classical Danish ballerina who danced in the Royal Danish Ballet until 1992. She starred in Norman Campbell's film Ballerina in 1966. A number of choreographers have created works specially for her, in particular Alvin Ailey who dedicated Witness to her in 1986.

Silja Maria Wendrup Schandorff is a Danish ballerina who performed with the Royal Danish Ballet from 1985 to 2009. She has since served the Royal Theatre as ballet instructor and deputy ballet master.

Ida Praetorius Danish ballet dancer

Ida Praetorius is a Danish ballet dancer. She is a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet since 2016.

Mona Vangsaae Danish ballet dancer, choreographer and instructor

Mona Elly Hou Vangsaae (1920–1983) was a Danish ballet dancer, choreographer and instructor. At the Royal Danish Theatre, thanks to her excellent technique and dramatic versatility she became a soloist in 1942, taking roles in Bournonville's productions and in works by the Danish choreographers Nini Theilade and Harald Lander. The roles of Julie in Frederick Ashton's Romeo and Juliet and Aili in Birgit Cullberg's The Moon Reindeer were created for her. After retiring from the stage in 1962, she became an instructor for Bournonville's ballets together with her son Peter Schaufuss.

Toni Lander née Pihl Petersen (1931–1985) was a Danish ballerina who specialized in the ballets of August Bournonville. After becaming a solo dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet in 1950, she was a guest dancer with the Original Ballet Russe in 1951. She was then engaged by the Paris Opera Ballet until 1954. Lander also appeared with the London Festival Ballet in the late 1950s and with the American Ballet Theatre in the 1960s. After a few years back in Denmark in the early 1970s, in 1976 she joined the Ballet West in Salt Lake City. After a short illness, she died there of cancer in May 1985.

Holly Jean Dorger is an American ballet dancer. She is a principal dancer at the Royal Danish Ballet.

References

  1. 1 2 Robyn Sidersky (16 February 2012). "Spotsylvania ballerina impresses Danish queen". Frederiksburg.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Amy Watson lands". The Free Lance-Star. 21 July 2000. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Amy Watson, Exchange Artist". American Ballet Theatre. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Amy Watson". Det Kongelige Teater. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  5. ↑ Johanna Krik (February 2013). "Technique My Way: Amy Watson". Dance Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  6. ↑ Eva Kistrup (7 May 2011). "US Tour 2011 Interview with Amy Watson". Dance View Times.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.