Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan
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Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan is a Mexican-American
ballet dancer A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...
who is currently a principal dancer with
Pacific Northwest Ballet Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is an American ballet company based in Seattle, Washington. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 49 dancers and hosts ...
in Seattle.


Early life and training

Ryan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a Mexican mother and an Irish-American father. She began dance classes at a local studio before one of her teachers noticed her natural facility for classical ballet and recommended The Rock School for Dance Education for more specialized and technical training. Ryan also attended classes at Metropolitan Ballet Academy, and eventually enrolled at the newly reopened School of Pennsylvania Ballet, from where she graduated. She attended various summer courses at institutions such as the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, Ellison Ballet,
San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...
,
School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The school trains students from the age of six, with professional voc ...
, the School of
Pennsylvania Ballet Philadelphia Ballet (formerly known as Pennsylvania Ballet until its rebranding in 2021) is the largest ballet company in Philadelphia. The company's annual local season features six programs of classic pieces, such as George Balanchine's ''The ...
, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School.


Career

At 16, Ryan received her first professional contract with the company formerly known as Pennsylvania Ballet (now
Philadelphia Ballet Philadelphia Ballet (formerly known as Pennsylvania Ballet until its rebranding in 2021) is the largest ballet company in Philadelphia. The company's annual local season features six programs of classic pieces, such as George Balanchine's ''The ...
). Two years later, in 2016, she joined
Pacific Northwest Ballet Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is an American ballet company based in Seattle, Washington. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 49 dancers and hosts ...
as an apprentice, and was promoted to corps de ballet in 2017. During her first year in the corps de ballet, she was chosen to replace principal ballerina Noelani Pantastico (who was injured at the time) in Crystal Pite's ''Plot Point''. Her successful performance led to a string of featured roles, including ''Maria'' in Jerome Robbin's West Side Story and the ''Sugar Plum Fairy'' in
George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...
's The Nutcracker. In 2018 she was featured in
Dance Magazine ''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' is currently part of Dance Media, led by longtime arts publisher Joanna Harp as president, and has mu ...
's "On the Rise" and was the March/April (digital) cover of
Pointe Magazine ''Pointe'' was launched in 2000 as a quarterly, international ballet magazine and was converted from print to a digital magazine in 2020. The magazine covers news on ballet company premieres, established and rising ballet stars, ballet competitio ...
in 2021. During the pandemic lockdown, when live performances were canceled, Ryan was featured in ''Sylvia Pas de deux'' and the ''Rubies'' pas de deux from Balanchine's Jewels for PNB's digital season. She was promoted to Soloist at Pacific Northwest Ballet in November 2021, and to Principal dancer in November 2023. Most recently, Ryan danced leading roles during PNB's June 2022 tour in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. She was featured in the playbill and poster at the David H. Koch Theater. Outside of PNB, Ryan has performed as a guest artist at Shut Up & Dance in collaboration with MANNA, Chop Shop Contemporary Dance Festival, and the Seattle International Dance Festival. In 2021, she was a guest artist for Matthew Neenan's residency at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, South Dakota Ballet, and Ballet Sun Valley dance festival in Idaho. Ryan is artistic co-director of Green Bay Ballet Festival, along with fellow PNB Principal dancer, Kyle Davis. In addition to her work as a dancer, Ryan choreographed ''Before You Know It'' for PNB's Next Step program.


Selected Repertoire

*''
Agon () is the Greek personification for a conflict, struggle or contest, describing a concept of the same name. This could be a contest in athletics, in chariot or horse racing, or in music or literature at a public festival in ancient Greece. i ...
'' *''
Allegro Brillante ''Allegro Brillante'' is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 3. The ballet is danced by a principal couple and a corps de ballet of eight. Balanchine said it "contains everything I knew about classic ...
'' *''
Coppélia ''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Éti ...
'' (Swanilda, Waltz of the Golden Hours) *''
Giselle ''Giselle'' ( , ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (; ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet () in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, it was first perfor ...
'' (Giselle, Peasant pas de deux) * ''Rubies'' from ''
Jewels A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...
'' *''
A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...
'' (Butterfly, Hermia) *''
The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...
'' (Sugar Plum Fairy, Columbine, Marzipan, Dewdrop, Hot Chocolate, Coffee) *'' Petite Mort'' *'' The Sleeping Beauty'' (Princess Aurora, Fairy Candide, Fairy of Temperament, Blue Bird pas de deux) *'' The Season's Canon'' *''
Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...
'' (Pas de trois, Czardas, Neapolitan Dance) *''
Tarantella Tarantella () is a group of various Southern Italy, southern Italian Italian folk dance, folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania, Sicilia, and Apulia. It is characterized by a fast Beat (music), upbeat tempo, usually in Ti ...
'' *''
The Times Are Racing ''The Times Are Racing'' is a one-act ballet by Justin Peck, to "USA I-IV" from Dan Deacon's album ''America'', with costumes designed by Humberto Leon from the fashion label Opening Ceremony and lighting design by Brandon Stirling Baker. It p ...
'' *''
West Side Story Suite ''West Side Story Suite'' is a ballet suite choreographed by Jerome Robbins. Robbins conceived, directed and choreographed the 1957 musical ''West Side Story'', then co-directed its 1961 film adaptation, before including parts of the choreogr ...
'' (Maria)


Created roles

*Donald Byrd: ''Love and Loss'' *Kyle Davis: ''A Dark and Lonely Space'' *Amanda Morgan: ''This Space is Left Intentionally Blank'' *Matthew Neenan: ''Bacchus'' *Noelani Pantastico: ''Picnic'' *Miles Pertl: ''Wash of Gray'' *Eva Stone: ''F O I L'' *Ezra Thompson: ''The Perpetual State''


References

{{morecat, date=January 2022 1997 births Living people 21st-century American ballet dancers American ballerinas School of American Ballet alumni Mexican ballerinas Mexican female dancers Mexican dancers 21st-century American dancers