Jenna Roberts

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Jenna Roberts is a retired Australian ballet dancer, formerly a principal dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB)

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Biography

Roberts was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, and trained at the Marie Walton-Mahon Dance Academy in Newcastle, Australia, and the Royal Ballet Upper School. [1] Joining Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2003, she quickly rose through the company. [1] In 2006 she starred as Juliet for the "Ballet Hoo!" project, a collaboration between BRB, Channel 4, the charity Youth at Risk and local authorities. [2] She suffered a setback after a severe injury in 2007, returning to achieve a promotion to company principal at the end of the 2011–12 season. Roberts has been acclaimed as a masterful Balanchine interpreter, credited for combining ethereal elegance with outstanding stamina to craft leading roles. [1] After her younger sister Callie Roberts joined the company the two siblings performed together in works including Cinderella . [3]

Roberts has recently created roles in a number of short ballets, working with the contemporary American choreographer Jessica Lang in Lyric Pieces, and dancing as the Fairy in Michael Corder's Le Baiser de la fée. [1] In 2014 The Observer reported that an "incandescent Jenna Roberts steals the show" in Alexander Whitley's new ballet Kin. [4]

Having retired from dancing, she now teaches Pilates, and she and husband Joseph Caley relocated to Australia in 2022, where Caley has become a principal artist with The Australian Ballet [5]

General repertory

BalletRoleChoreographer
AgonPrincipal couple George Balanchine
Allegri diversi David Bintley
ApolloTerpsichoreGeorge Balanchine
Beauty and the BeastBelleDavid Bintley
Checkmate Ninette de Valois
CinderellaSummerDavid Bintley
Concerto pas de deux Kenneth MacMillan
CoppéliaSwanilda's Friends and Prayer Peter Wright
The Dance HouseDavid Bintley
Dante Sonata Frederick Ashton
Daphnis and ChloëChloëFrederick Ashton
Dumbarton OaksMichael Kopisnki
E=mc²MassDavid Bintley
Elite SyncopationsBethena Concert WaltzKenneth MacMillan
La Fille mal gardéeLise's FriendsFrederick Ashton
Five Tangos Hans van Manen
The Four Seasons Oliver Hindle
GiselleHarvest pas de deuxDavid Bintley
Hobson's ChoiceSalvation ArmyDavid Bintley
KinAlexander Whitley
The Lady and the Fool John Cranko
Lyric PiecesJessica Lang
Monotones IIFrederick Ashton
The NutcrackerSugar Plum Fairy, Snow FairyPeter Wright
The Nutcracker SweetiesChinoiserieDavid Bintley
The Orpheus SuiteDavid Bintley
The Rite of SpringMillicent Hodson and Kenneth Archer (reconstruction)
Romeo and JulietJulietKenneth MacMillan
Scènes de balletFrederick Ashton
The Shakespeare SuiteJulietDavid Bintley
SolitaireGirlKenneth MacMillan
The Sleeping BeautyPrincess AuroraPeter Wright
The Sons of HorusDavid Bintley
Symphonic VariationsFrederick Ashton
Symphony in Three MovementsGeorge Balanchine
The Two PigeonsFrederick Ashton
Western SymphonyFirst movementGeorge Balanchine

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Jenna Roberts", Birmingham Royal Ballet, retrieved 29 October 2015
  2. Turner, Susan. "Our teen dancers not half Bard!", Birmingham Mail, 29 September 2006.
  3. "Ballerinas following in their sisters' footsteps", The Birmingham Post, 22 November 2012
  4. "Birmingham Royal Ballet triple bill review", The Observer, 27 April 2014
  5. Lambert, Catherine (2022-07-18). "The life-changing moments that brought two dance recruits to Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2022-11-17.