Principal Dancer Ashley Bouder to give farewell performance with New York City Ballet on 13 February
New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Ashley Bouder will give her final performance on Thursday 13 February following a 25-year career with the company, including 20 years as Principal Dancer.
Bouder was promoted to Principal Dancer 20 years ago today, on 22 January 2005, which is also the anniversary of NYCB co-founder George Balanchine‘s birth. For her farewell performance she will dance the title role in George Balanchine’s Firebird, a role that she first performed during the 2001 Spring Season, less than a year after joining the Company. Bouder was 17, and she took over in the title role when the scheduled dancer fell ill, learning the role in just two hours. Bouder said, “It’s what I always thought I would dance in my last show. I didn’t really consider anything else.”
Bouder was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and began her ballet training at the age of six at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet with Marcia Dale Weary. After attending the 1999 Summer Program at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, she was invited by SAB to continue her training during the Winter Session. As a student, Bouder performed featured roles in Balanchine’s Danses Concertantes and Stars and Stripes for SAB’s 2000 workshop performances.
Bouder was named an apprentice with New York City Ballet in June 2000 and became a member of the corps de ballet that October. She was promoted to the rank of Soloist in February 2004, and in January 2005, Bouder was promoted to Principal Dancer.
Since joining NYCB, she has performed featured roles in numerous ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Mauro Bigonzetti, Christopher d’Amboise, Jorma Elo, Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, and Christopher Wheeldon, among others. In addition, Bouder has originated featured roles in works by Kyle Abraham, Warren Carlyle, Albert Evans, Douglas Lee, Edwaard Liang, Wayne McGregor, Susan Stroman, Richard Tanner, and Troy Schumacher, among others.
The New York Times once wrote that her power “radiates onstage, where Ms. Bouder is known for her scintillating athleticism, clarity and attack.”
When Bachtrack, eight years ago, asked if she would like to direct a company, she answered,
Yes, I have always wanted to. I’m a bit controlling so I would love to be able to run my own company or school where I can have a voice and be heard and also to be able to contribute to the next generation, whether it’s students or professionals.
Always sharply intelligent and bravely outspoken about issues, including gender equality, maybe this could well be her next stop. Someone ready to listen? She always hated being told “to shut up and dance”.
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
