Isabella Boylston
Encyclopedia
Isabella Boylston is an American ballet dancer and a soloist with American Ballet Theatre
(ABT).
and has been dancing since she was 3 years old. She studied at the Academy of Colorado Ballet
. During that time, she won a gold medal at the 2001 Youth America Grand Prix Finals in New York City. In 2002, she received a full scholarship to train at the Harid Conservatory
in Boca Raton, Florida
. During her time there she worked with choreographer Mark Godden and danced leading roles such as Medora in Le Corsaire
, the Paquita pas de trois, Lise in La Fille mal gardée
and the Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker
. In 2004, she received the Reuger Scholarship for excellence in dance. She participated in summer programs at the School of American Ballet
, the Boston Ballet
and the American Ballet Theatre
. In 2005 she joined the ABT Studio Company (now ABT II), became an apprentice with the main Company in May 2006 and joined the corps de ballet in March 2007 and was promoted on 6 June 2011 as a soloist with ABT. Boylston won the Princess Grace Award in 2009. She also designed costumes for the Pacific Northwest Ballet
's 2010 production of Benjamin Millepied
's 3 Movements, a ballet set to Steve Reich
's Three Movements for Orchestra.
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
(ABT).
Life and career
Boylston was born in Sun Valley, IdahoSun Valley, Idaho
Sun Valley is a resort city in Blaine County in the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum, lying within the greater Wood River valley. Tourists from around the world enjoy its skiing, hiking, ice skating, trail riding, tennis, and cycling. The population was 1,427...
and has been dancing since she was 3 years old. She studied at the Academy of Colorado Ballet
Colorado Ballet
Colorado Ballet is a classical ballet company based in Denver, Colorado. Comprising two academies as well as a company, Colorado Ballet serves more than 110,000 patrons each year. The main performance venue is Ellie Caukins Opera House in downtown Denver....
. During that time, she won a gold medal at the 2001 Youth America Grand Prix Finals in New York City. In 2002, she received a full scholarship to train at the Harid Conservatory
Harid Conservatory
The Harid Conservatory is a ballet training school for high-school age students. It was established in 1987 and is located in Boca Raton, Florida. It offers four-year curriculum includes ballet and related dance courses. Academic studies occur at the Spanish River Community High School, also...
in Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, incorporated in May 1925. In the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 74,764; the 2006 population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 86,396. However, the majority of the people under the postal address of Boca Raton, about...
. During her time there she worked with choreographer Mark Godden and danced leading roles such as Medora in Le Corsaire
Le Corsaire
Le Corsaire is a ballet typically presented in three acts, with a libretto originally created by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges loosely based on the poem The Corsair by Lord Byron. Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Adolphe Adam, it was first presented by the ballet of...
, the Paquita pas de trois, Lise in La Fille mal gardée
La Fille Mal Gardée
La Fille mal gardée is a comic ballet presented in two acts, inspired by Pierre-Antoine Baudouin's 1789 painting, La réprimande/Une jeune fille querellée par sa mère...
and the Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
. In 2004, she received the Reuger Scholarship for excellence in dance. She participated in summer programs at the School of American Ballet
School of American Ballet
The School of American Ballet is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The school trains students from the...
, the Boston Ballet
Boston Ballet
Boston Ballet, founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams, was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. Boston Ballet’s national and international reputation developed under the leadership of Artistic Directors Violette Verdy , Bruce Marks , and Anna-Marie Holmes...
and the American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
. In 2005 she joined the ABT Studio Company (now ABT II), became an apprentice with the main Company in May 2006 and joined the corps de ballet in March 2007 and was promoted on 6 June 2011 as a soloist with ABT. Boylston won the Princess Grace Award in 2009. She also designed costumes for the Pacific Northwest Ballet
Pacific Northwest Ballet
Pacific Northwest Ballet is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington in the United States. Founded in 1972 as part of the Seattle Opera and named the Pacific Northwest Dance Association, it broke away from the Opera in 1977 and took its current name in 1978. It is said to have the highest per...
's 2010 production of Benjamin Millepied
Benjamin Millepied
Benjamin Millepied is a French danseur, best known for his work as choreographer in the movie Black Swan .-Early life:...
's 3 Movements, a ballet set to Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
's Three Movements for Orchestra.
Selected repertoire
American Ballet Theatre- an Odalisque in Le CorsaireLe CorsaireLe Corsaire is a ballet typically presented in three acts, with a libretto originally created by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges loosely based on the poem The Corsair by Lord Byron. Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Adolphe Adam, it was first presented by the ballet of...
- a flower girl in Don QuixoteDon Quixote (ballet)Don Quixote is a ballet originally staged in four acts and eight scenes, based on an episode taken from the famous novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus and was first presented by the Ballet of the...
- the peasant pas de deux and Moyna in GiselleGiselleGiselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...
- a Harlot in Romeo and Juliet
- the Fairy of Fervor in The Sleeping Beauty
- the pas de trois and the Polish Princess in Swan LakeSwan LakeSwan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
