Skylar Brandt

Skylar Paley Brandt (born January 8, 1993) is an American ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre.

Early life

Skylar Brandt was born and raised in Purchase, New York. Her parents are Gary and Barbara Brandt; Barbara Brandt worked as a fitness instructor. She is the youngest of three sisters and grew up in a Jewish family. She is the cousin of American filmmaker, writer and artist Miranda July.

Brandt began her training at the age of six, at the Scarsdale Ballet Studio under the instruction of Diana White and Christian Claessens. Brandt also studied with Susan Jaffe, Valentina Kozlova and Fabrice Herrault as part of her earlier training.

In 2004 and again in 2008, Brandt participated in the Youth America Grand Prix and was awarded a silver medal both times. The following year she began attending the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at ABT and was there for four years before joining the ABT Studio Company in 2009. While at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, Brandt was a National Training Scholar from 2006 to 2009, and in 2009 she became the recipient of the Bender Foundation scholarship. During her years of training prior to joining the American Ballet Theatre, Brandt spent five summers attending ABT’s Summer Intensives

Career

Brandt joined American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company in 2009, then became an apprentice with the main company in November 2010, and by June 2011 was in the Corps de Ballet. In August 2015, she worked her way up and was appointed a soloist in the company. She was assigned to fill in for lead roles such as Medora in ''Le Corsaire'' Princess Praline in ''Whipped Cream'' and Columbine in ''Harlequinade''. Her repertoire also include roles in ''La Bayadère'', Cinderella, ''Le Corsaire'', ''Don Quixote'', ''The Firebird'', ''The Nutcracker'', '' The Sleeping Beauty'' and ''Swan Lake''. In February 2020, Brandt made her debut in the title role of ''Giselle''; though set to dance with Joo Won Ahn, her first performance was with Herman Cornejo, after one rehearsal, in order to replace an injured Misty Copeland. She was made principal dancer in September 2020.

She created a Consort in ''Ghost Catcher'', The Swallow in ''The Seasons'', the Fairy Canari qui chante (Canary) in Alexei Ratmansky’s ''The Sleeping Beauty'', a leading role in ''Her Notes'' and featured roles in ''AfterEffect'', ''After You'' and ''Praedicere''.

Brandt has performed in several international galas. She appeared in ''Ballet’s Greatest Hits'', a documentary film, and ''Big Ballet'', a Russian television show. Brandt received a Special Jury Award for her performances on ”Big Ballet” in 2018. She was awarded a Princess Grace Foundation-USA Fellowship in 2013.

In 2020, in response of the impacts of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on the dance community, Brandt participated in Misty Copeland's fundraiser, Swans for Relief, by dancing '' The Swan''. The fund will go to participating dancers' companies and other related relief funds. Brandt also participated in ''Swan Lake Bath Ballet'', choreographed by Corey Baker for the BBC, in which dancers performed ''Swan Lake'' in their bath tubs and filmed themselves on their phones.

Selected repertoire

Brandt's repertoire with the American Ballet Theatre includes:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandt, Skylar
1993 births
Living people
People from Purchase, New York
Dancers from New York (state)
21st-century American ballet dancers
American Ballet Theatre principal dancers
American prima ballerinas
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School alumni
21st-century American women