Amanda McKerrow (born 1964) is an American ballet dancer. She was a principal dancer with

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

(ABT) where she currently teaches. In 1981 she became the first American to win a gold medal at the

Moscow International Ballet Competition Moscow ( , American English, US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia. The city stands on t ...

when she was 17 years old."Amanda McKerrow Succeeded Where Other Americans Failed: She Disarmed the Soviets"
''People'', August 31, 1981 Vol. 16 No. 9.

Early life and education

McKerrow was born in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, the youngest child of a retired administrator at the National Institutes of Health. Her mother was a stay-at-home mom. She began taking ballet lessons at age seven and five years later won a scholarship to the Metropolitan Academy of Ballet in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

. After her sophomore year she dropped out of high school and joined

The Washington Ballet The Washington Ballet (TWB) is an ensemble of professional ballet dancers based in Washington DC. It was founded in 1976 by Mary Day, and has been under the artistic directorship of Julie Kent since 2016. Septime Webre was artistic director for ...

(TWB).

Career

McKerrow danced with

for two years from 1980 to 1982. She joined American Ballet Theatre under the direction of

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...

in 1982. She was appointed Soloist in 1983 and Principal Dancer in 1987. She retired from performing in 2005. In 2014 McKerrow began teaching and staging performances at ABT. She also teaches at Washington University and at dance festivals. In addition to her ballet career, she has appeared in several films: ‘’Variety and Virtuosity: American Ballet Theatre Now (1998),’’ ‘’American Ballet Theatre at the Met (1984)’’ and ‘’Dancers (1987).’’

Awards

McKerrow is the first American to receive a gold medal at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow which she won in 1981. McKerrow has also been the recipient of the

Princess Grace Foundation The Princess Grace Foundation – USA is a charity organization named after Princess Grace of Monaco, which supports emerging performers in theater, dance, and film in the form of awards, grants, scholarships, and fellowships. The Foundation hol ...

Dance Fellowship in 1986, the Deane Sherman Award of Excellence in the Field of Dance and the New York Woman Award for Dance.

Personal

She is married to fellow ballet dancer, John Gardner, whom she met when they were both performing with ABT."Ballet Theatre Minus Baryshnikov" ''LA Times'', March 04, 1990, WILLIAM HUCK
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References

External links

American Ballet Theatre
*https://web.archive.org/web/20160203054752/http://www.abt.org/education/archive/designers/mckerrow_a.html {{DEFAULTSORT:McKerrow, Amanda American ballerinas Living people 1964 births 21st-century American women