A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company.
A principal may be any gender. The position is similar to that of soloist; however, principals regularly perform not only solos, but also pas de deux as well as headlining performances they participate in. Principal dancers can be hired into a dance company or can also be a company dancer that is a corps de ballet dancer that gets promoted from within the company. That process can take multiple performance seasons or even years to achieve based on skill level and company interest. It is a coveted position in the company and the most prominent position a dancer can receive. The term is used mostly in ballet but can be used in other forms as well, such as modern dance. They are usually the star of the ballet. The term senior principal dancer is sometimes used as well.
Synonyms and origin
The Italian derived term prima ballerina (female dancers) (primo ballerino for male dancers) or the French derived term premier danseur (male dancers) have been used to denote similar levels of prominence to the Principal Dancer. In the Paris Opera Ballet, principal dancers receive the title of Danseur Étoile.
France
Detailed article: Paris Opera Ballet.
The title of premier danseur is awarded to the dancer who reaches the second-highest rung in the Paris Opéra ballet hierarchy, after having been a sujet.
As early as 1803-1804, the title was used by Jean-Georges Noverre as a synonym for “premier sujet”, the highest echelon of the ballet company, before being replaced by “étoile” at the end of the 19th century.
Current principal dancers
Royal Ballet
(as of 2023-2024 seasons)
- Matthew Ball
- William Bracewell
- Reese Clark
- Cesar Corrales
- Lauren Cuthbertson
- Francesca Hayward
- Ryoichi Hirano
- Fumi Kaneko
- Sarah Lamb
- Mayara Magri
- Steven McRae
- Vadim Muntagirov
- Yasmine Naghdi
- Marianela Nuñez
- Natalia Osipova
- Anna Rose O'Sullivan
- Calvin Richardson
- Marcelino Sambé
- Joseph Sissens
- Akane Takada
American Ballet Theatre
(as of 2023-2024 seasons)
- Joo Won Ahn
- Aran Bell
- Isabella Boylston
- Skylar Brandt
- Daniel Camargo
- Misty Copeland
- Herman Cornejo
- Thomas Forster
- Catherine Hurlin
- Chloe Misseldine
- Gillian Murphy
- Calvin Royal III
- Hee Seo
- Christine Shevchenko
- Cory Stearns
- Devon Teuscher
- Cassandra Trenary
- James B. Whiteside
- Roman Zhurbin
Martha Graham Modern Dance Company
(as of 2018-2019 seasons)
- PeiJu Chien-Pott
- Xin Ying
- Lloyd Knight
- Ben Schultz
Miami City Ballet
(as of 2023-2024 seasons)
- Nathalia Arja
- Dawn Atkins
- Hannah Fischer
- Samantha Hope Galler
- Ashley Knox
- Jennifer Lauren
- Steven Loch
- Yuliia Moskalenko
- Stanislav Olshanskyi
- Alexander Peters
- Chase Swatosh
New York City Ballet
(as of 2023-2024 seasons)
- Tyler Angle
- Ashley Bouder
- Chun Wai Chan
- Adrian Danchig-Waring
- Megan Fairchild
- Jovani Furlan
- Emily Gerrity
- Joseph Gordon
- Anthony Huxley
- Isabella LaFreniere
- Mira Nadon
- Sara Mearns
- Roman Mejia
- Tiler Peck
- Unity Phelan
- Taylor Stanley
- Daniel Ulbricht
- Andrew Veyette
- Emma Von Enck
- Peter Walker
- Indiana Woodward
Bolshoi Ballet Company
- Alyona Kovalyova
- Ekaterina Krysanova
- Anna Nikulina
- Evgenia Obraztsova
- Eleonora Sevenard
- Anastasia Stashkevich
- Yulia Stepanova
- Svetlana Zakharova
- Artemy Belyakov
- Vladislav Lantratov
- Artem Ovcharenko
- Igor Tsvirko
- Semyon Chudin
- Mikhail Lobukhin
- Denis Rodkin
- Egor Gerashchenko
- Vyacheslav Lopatin
- Denis Savin
Principal Dancers in two or more Companies
- Olga Smirnova
- Tamara Rojo
- Diana Vishneva
- Roberto Bolle
- David Hallberg
- Isaac Hernandez
- Jurgita Dronina
- Vladimir Malakhov
- Polina Semionova
- Evan McKie
- Alessandra Ferri
- Maria Kochetkova
- Svetlana Lunkina
- Carlos Acosta
- Sylvie Guillem
- Daniil Simkin
- Nina Ananiashvili
- Yolanda Correa
- Julian Mackay
- Lucia Lacarra
- Matthew Golding
- Marijn Rademaker
- Igor Zelensky
- Julio Bocca
References
- "Senior Principal dancer". English National Ballet. Archived from the original on March 17, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- "the definition of danseur noble". www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
- "Meet our Dancers". Miami City Ballet. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
- "Meet our Dancers | New York City Ballet". www.nycballet.com. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
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