Christiana Bennett

Born: Townsend, Massachusetts

Joined Ballet West: 1999 Promoted to Soloist: 2003 Promoted to Principal: 2004

Training: Pennsylvania Ballet, School of American Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Current Repertoire: “Myrthe” in Giselle, “Juliet” in Romeo and Juliet; “Tough Girl” in Antony Tudor’s Echoing of Trumpets and “Caroline” in Tudor’s Lilac Garden; the Third Principal Couple in Hans van Manen's Black Cake; principal roles in William Forsythe’s Artifact II and In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated; “Helena” in Sir Frederick Ashton’s The Dream; “Odette/Odile” in Adam Sklute’s newly conceived and produced Swan Lake in 2010; John Butler’s Carmina Burana; “Sugar Plum Fairy” in Willam Christensen’s The Nutcracker; “Carabosse” and “Princess Aurora (Dawn)” in Sklute’s 2011 newly conceived and produced The Sleeping Beauty; and featured roles in George Balanchine’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream, The Four Temperaments, Who Cares?, Allegro Brillante, Concerto Barocco, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Theme and Variations, Serenade, Agon and Chaconne.

Favorite Roles: 2008 world premiere of Christopher Ruud’s One; George Balanchine’s Serenade at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in 2009; and as “Odette/Odile” in Sklute’s newly conceived and produced Swan Lake in 2010.

Additional Information: Before joining Ballet West, Christiana performed with Pacific Northwest Ballet and Commonwealth Civic Ballet, and was a guest artist for the City Ballet of Boston. She is the recipient of the Coca-Cola Foundation Arts Award and the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts award in dance.