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 of any gender and is usually the star of the ballet. The term is used mostly in ballet but can be used in other forms as well, such as modern dance. The term senior principal dancer is sometimes used as well.
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 promoted from within the company. That process can take multiple performance seasons to achieve based on skill level and company interest.
Contents
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
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 2023–2025 seasons)
Matthew Ball
William Bracewell
Reece Clarke
Cesar Corrales
Lauren Cuthbertson
Melissa Hamilton
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
Source:
(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
Source:
(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
Teatro alla Scala
Source:
Antonella Albano
Martina Arduino
Alice Mariani
Virna Toppi
Marco Agostino
Timofej Andrijashenko
Claudio Coviello
Nicola Del Freo
Antonino Sutera
Navrin Turnbull
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
Madeline Woo