Amanda McKerrow (born 1964) is an American ballet dancer. [1] She was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre (ABT) where she currently teaches. In 1981 she became the first American to win a gold medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition when she was 17 years old. [2]
McKerrow was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the youngest child of a retired administrator at the National Institutes of Health. [3] Her mother was a stay-at-home mom. She began taking ballet lessons at age seven and five years later won a scholarship to the Metropolitan Academy of Ballet in Bethesda, Maryland. After her sophomore year she dropped out of high school and joined The Washington Ballet (TWB).
McKerrow danced with The Washington Ballet for two years from 1980 to 1982. She joined American Ballet Theatre under the direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1982. She was appointed Soloist in 1983 and Principal Dancer in 1987. She retired from performing in 2005. [4] [5]
In 2014 McKerrow began teaching and staging performances at ABT. [6] She also teaches at Washington University [7] and at dance festivals. [8]
In addition to her ballet career, she has appeared in several films: ‘’Variety and Virtuosity: American Ballet Theatre Now (1998),’’ ‘’American Ballet Theatre at the Met (1984)’’ and ‘’Dancers (1987).’’
McKerrow is the first American to receive a gold medal at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow which she won in 1981. [2] McKerrow has also been the recipient of the Princess Grace Foundation Dance Fellowship in 1986, [9] the Deane Sherman Award of Excellence in the Field of Dance, and the New York Woman Award for Dance.
She is married to fellow ballet dancer, John Gardner, whom she met when they were both performing with ABT. [10]
Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov is a Latvian and American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He was the preeminent male classical ballet dancer of the 1970s and 1980s. He subsequently became a noted dance director.
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House in the spring and a shorter season at the David H. Koch Theater in the fall; the company tours around the world the rest of the year. The company was scheduled to have a 5-week spring season at the MET preceded by a 2-week season at the Koch Theater beginning in 2020. ABT is the parent company of the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, and was recognized as "America's National Ballet Company" in 2006 by the United States Congress.
Ethan Stiefel is an American dancer, choreographer, and director. He was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre (ABT) from 1997 until July 2012. He was the artistic director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet from 2011 to 2014. His wife is Gillian Murphy, also a principal dancer with ABT.
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. She became co-artistic director at the Houston Ballet in July 2023.
Natalia Romanovna Makarova is a Russian prima ballerina and choreographer. The History of Dance, published in 1981, notes that "her performances set standards of artistry and aristocracy of dance which mark her as the finest ballerina of her generation in the West."
Alessandra Ferri OMRI is an Italian prima ballerina. She danced with the Royal Ballet (1980–1984), American Ballet Theatre (1985–2007) and La Scala Theatre Ballet (1992–2007) and as an international guest artist, before temporally retiring on 10 August 2007, aged 44, then returning in 2013. She was eventually granted the rank of prima ballerina assoluta.
Rebecca Wright was an American ballerina, teacher, choreographer and ballet school director.
Xiomara Reyes is a former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. After retiring from performing she was appointed the Head of School of The Washington Ballet School.
The Washington Ballet (TWB) is an ensemble of professional ballet dancers based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1976 by Mary Day and has been directed by Julie Kent since 2016.
John Taras was an American ballet master, repetiteur, and choreographer.
Kevin McKenzie is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. A former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, he then served as the company's artistic director from 1992 to 2022.
Sallie Wilson was a ballerina who appeared with New York City Ballet where she danced opposite Martha Graham in the premiere of Graham and George Balanchine's collaboration at NYCB, Episodes in May, 1959, and subsequently with American Ballet Theatre, where she was associated with several ballets created by Antony Tudor. In 1966, she achieved a triumph as Hagar in ABT's revival of Tudor's ballet Pillar of Fire, set to the music of Arnold Schoenberg's Transfigured Night. The ballet is loosely based on the poem that inspired the Schoenberg piece rather than the Biblical story of Hagar.
Other Dances is a ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins to music by Frédéric Chopin. It was created on Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov, and premiered on May 9, 1976, at a gala benefitting the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, held at Metropolitan Opera House. It was originally made as a pièce d'occasion, but after receiving critical acclaim, it was soon added to American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet's repertories.
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 a principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history.
Sarah Lane is an American ballet dancer who was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre (ABT). She served as a "dance double" for Natalie Portman in the 2010 film Black Swan.
Hee Seo is a South Korean ballet dancer who is a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. She became the company's first Korean ballerina to be promoted to principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history. She is also one of the youngest dancers in ABT history to be promoted to principal at the age of twenty-six. The New York Times has described her style and dancing to "exude an unhurried purity that sums up all that is lovely about ballet" and by Vogue as "unspeakably lissome". Several critics have noted her style as "lyrical and open" and she has been critically acclaimed for her "humility" and "unique feminine strength".
Cynthia Harvey is an American former ballet dancer, ballet mistress and educator. She joined the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) in 1974 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1982. In 1986, she joined The Royal Ballet, becoming the company's first American principal dancer. She returned to ABT two years later, and retired in 1996. She then started teaching and staging ballets across the world. Between 2016 and 2022, she was the artistic director of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, the affiliated school of ABT.
Brooklyn Devon Mack is an American ballet dancer. He is currently the Interim Artistic Director of Columbia Classical Ballet since November 11, 2021.
Rolando Sarabia Oquendo is a Cuban-born American ballet dancer. He was an acclaimed Principal Dancer for The Washington Ballet under artistic director Julie Kent and former artistic director Septime Webre. He has danced with many companies including the Cuban National Ballet, the Houston Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre as a guest artist in 2011. Erika Kinetz of The New York Times called him the "Cuban Nijinsky" and compared him to the young Mikhail Baryshnikov. In 2021 he was named the artistic director of Roanoke Ballet Theatre.
Martine van Hamel is a Dutch choreographer, director, teacher, retired ballerina and former Principal dancer at the National Ballet of Canada and American Ballet Theatre (ABT). She was a gold medalist at the biennial Varna International Ballet Competition, the most prestigious ballet competition in the world, held in Varna, Bulgaria. She is also a recipient of the Prix de Varna, a recognition rarely awarded, for best artistic interpretation in all categories. She was one of the leading classical ballerinas in America.
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