Bridgett Zehr (born c. 1985) is an American ballet dancer. After terms with the

Houston Ballet Houston Ballet, operated by Houston Ballet Foundation, is a professional ballet company based in Houston, Texas. The company, consisting of 59 dancers, produces over 85 performances per year. History Tatiana Semenova (1955–1967) Houston dev ...

and the

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca as the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

, she joined the

English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish ...

in 2011 as a principal.

Biography

Born in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

, Zehr trained from the age of seven with the Sarasota Ballet School and later with the

Harid Conservatory The HARID Conservatory is a ballet professional-training school for high-school age students. It was established in 1987 and is located in Boca Raton, Florida. A four-year curriculum is offered that includes ballet and related dance courses. Aca ...

in Boca Raton. When she was 17, she joined the

as an apprentice, working with

Maina Gielgud Maina Gielgud (born 14 January 1945) is a British former ballet dancer and a veteran ballet administrator. She was artistic director of The Australian Ballet from 1983 to 1996. She had a twenty-year career as a dancer in Europe and the United Ki ...

there and becoming a soloist in 2006. The National Ballet of Canada in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

took her on as a soloist in 2007, promoting her to principal dancer in 2009. In both Houston and Toronto, she established a close personal and professional relationship with Zdenek Konvalina. Following Konvalina, in 2011, she joined the English National Ballet as a principal dancer. She has danced principal roles in several classical ballets including '' The Sleeping Beauty'', '' Swan Lake'' and '' Giselle'' and in works by George Balanchine such as ''

Apollo (ballet) ''Apollo'' (originally ''Apollon musagète'' and variously known as ''Apollo musagetes'', ''Apolo Musageta'', and ''Apollo, Leader of the Muses'') is a neoclassical ballet in two '' tableaux'' composed between 1927 and 1928 by Igor Stravinsky ...

'' and ''

Jewels A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

''. She received the Rolex Dancers First Award in 2009 for dancing the title role in Davide Bombana's ''Carmen''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zehr, Bridgett American ballerinas English National Ballet principal dancers Living people 1985 births People from Sarasota, Florida