Principal dancer

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.^[1]

Synonyms and origin

The Italian derived term prima ballerina (female dancers) (primo ballerino for male dancers) or the French derived term^[2] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.

PeiJu Chien-Pott
Xin Ying
Lloyd Knight
Ben Schultz

Miami City Ballet^[3]

(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^[4]

(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