James B. Whiteside (born July 27, 1984), is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, model, drag queen, and recording artist. He is a former principal dancer with Boston Ballet and is currently a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre.
Whiteside was born on July 27, 1984, at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut.[1] His parents belonged to wealthy, suburban Connecticut families, and first met when his father was working as a swimming coach for his mother's children. The couple had an affair, and later divorced when Whiteside was two. His mother struggled with addiction, and died of cancer in 2016.[2][3][4]
Whiteside grew up in Fairfield and Bridgeport.[5] He began his dance training at the D'Valda & Sirico Dance and Music Centre when he was nine years old.[6] He trained in jazz, tap, and acrobatic dance and did not study classical ballet until he was a teenager.[7] He later attended the Virginia School of Arts in Lynchburg, Virginia, and trained under the direction of Petrus Bosman and David Keener.[8]
Career
Ballet
At fifteen, before his senior year in high school, Whiteside attended the American Ballet Theatre (ABT)'s summer program at 890 Broadway, a former belt and shirt factory converted into a rehearsal space by choreographer Michael Bennett.[9] He was offered a spot in the Studio Company, the junior company of ABT, on his third day by the then director. During this time, he lived in East Village, sharing a two-bedroom apartment with five girls, and was paid $230 per week. Two years later, he auditioned for the Boston Ballet's summer program, and was accepted. In 2002, he was offered a position in Boston Ballet II, a season-long, tuition-free program that provides an entryway for young dancers to begin their professional performing careers. He continued to rise through the ranks at Boston Ballet for the next ten years; he became a Corps de Ballet in 2003, soloist in 2006, first soloist in 2008, and principal dancer in 2009.[10][5]
Whiteside was invited to audition for ABT, and joined the company as a soloist in September 2012.[11]He was promoted to principal dancer in October 2013.[5]
He performed with the National Ballet of Canada as a guest artist and was featured in Justin Peck's short film Early Sunday Morning, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.[12] In 2018, he starred in Arthur Pita's dance/theater work The Tenant at The Joyce Theater in New York City.
Whiteside hosts his own podcast series on Premier Dance Network called The Stage Rightside with James Whiteside.[13][14]
Choreography
Whiteside created On the Water for Indianapolis City Ballet’s 'Evening with the Stars' in 2015. Set to Claude Debussy, it was originally performed by him and British-born American ballet dancer Gillian Murphy.[15] For 2018 ABT Incubator, he choreographed City of Women which premiered during ABT’s Summer Celebration and was later performed in 2021 at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park for the Performing Arts in Tivoli, NY.[16][17][18]
In 2017, Disney Japan invited Whiteside to choreograph and perform a Beauty and the BeastPas de Deux. The dance, featuring him and Boston Ballet's Misa Kuranaga, was a bonus feature for an exclusive DVD and Blu Ray release of a ballet lesson series called Disney Ballet Mousercise. Disney chose a newly arranged piano version of Tale as Old as Time as the music. For the three-act classical ballet, Whiteside was inspired by the "original Beauty and the Beast Disney film, Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella and much of Alexei Ratmansky’s work."[19][20]
He choreographed New American Romance that offers a progressive take on classical romantic ballet with "contemporary, sassy injections of turned-in footwork or classical hands that suddenly start to swirl midair."[21] The show, exploring themes of modern love, debuted at 2019 Vail Dance Festival and was later performed at the Lincoln Centre as part of ABT's 2022 fall season.[18] Whiteside created and choreographed Marilyn’s Funeral for Juilliard School which was filmed and edited by third-year student Joan Dwiartanto. The dance was conceptualised during the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by his "subconscious need for peace and beauty." The title references the mysterious death of American actress and model Marilyn Monroe. Performed at the Julliard’s Peter Jay Sharp Theater, the dance invites the audience to feel sadness and peacefulness–the same emotions that one might associate with a funeral.
Whiteside is also known for choreographing to more recent, popular music. For 2022 Global Citizen Festival, he choreographed Hero by Mariah Carey. Performed by ABT Studio Company's Madison Brown, Kyra Coco, Tillie Glatz, and Aleisha Walker, the dance featured Carey singing live.[24] He created Young & Beautiful set to music by alt-pop star Lana Del Rey for ABT Studio Company's 2024 Spring Tour. The dance was inspired by a 1995 PBS documentary Silver Feet which follows the trials and tribulations of three students trying to get into the San Francisco Ballet school.[23] His Dance You Outta My Head featuring a song of dance-pop musician Cat Janice was performed by ABT’s Madison Brown and Brady Farrar for the 2024 Dance Against Cancer Gala. He has also choreographed to music by Tito Puente and Rozzi Crane. For Alabama Ballet's 2025 season closer, Unbound, Whiteside created TWIGS set to five FKA Twigs songs–Ride the Dragon, Two Weeks, Glass & Patron, Eusexua, and Cellophane. The dance, featuring "lots of partner work, quirky arm and hand movements, and very chic lighting" references some of his favorite works by William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, George Balanchine, and Frederick Ashton.[25]
Jiří Kyliá’s Sechs Tänze (Six Dances) performed by Alabama Ballet
Whiteside continues to choreograph for music videos, commercials, and film. He choreographed Lover by Taylor Swift and Butterscotch Goddam by electronic music duo Fischerspooner. He was also the choreographer for the footwear company Rothy’s TV commercial.[26][27]
Whiteside records electronic pop, rap, and dance hall music under the stage name JbDubs.[30][14][31] He writes and produces his own music and directs, choreographs, and produces his own music videos.[32][33] The music video for his single I Hate My Job has been featured on PerezHilton.com, HuffPost, After Elton, Instinct, Shangay Spain, Up2U Thailand, and MTV3. His music has also been featured on the Here TV network shows BOOMBOX and She's Living for This.[34]
Whiteside released his debut album Free To Love in 2011. His second album, titled Oink, was released in 2012. In 2013 he released an extended play titled Hey JB![34]
Drag
Whiteside's drag persona Ühu Betch is inspired by his favorite childhood drink Yoo-hoo. He has been doing drag since the early 2000s with a posse of drag queens based in New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia. The group, called The Dairy Queens, consists of Milk, Skim Burley, Ühu Betch, Linda Lakes, and Juggz Au Lait. After he joined ABT, night-life impresarioSusanne Bartsch hired them for club nights and parties.[30][35]
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