Carrie Imler (born 1977 or 1978) is an American ballet dancer. She joined the

Pacific Northwest Ballet Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 49 dan ...

in 1995 and became a principal dancer in 2002. She retired in 2017, following a 22-year career, and started teaching at the company's school.

Early life

Imler was raised in

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

. She received her ballet training at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet,

Pacific Northwest Ballet School Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 49 dan ...

, and summer intensives at the

School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the most renowned ballet school in the United States. School of American Ballet is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New ...

Career

In 1995, Imler joined the

as an apprentice, and joined the corps de ballet the following year. She was promoted to soloist in 2000, and principal dancer two years later following a performance of ''

The Rite of Spring ''The Rite of Spring''. Full name: ''The Rite of Spring: Pictures from Pagan Russia in Two Parts'' (french: Le Sacre du printemps: tableaux de la Russie païenne en deux parties) (french: Le Sacre du printemps, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral ...

''. Imler had danced lead roles in nearly 100 ballets, such as ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'', ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

'', ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...

'' and ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...

'', and works by

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music. Fr ...

and

Alexei Ratmansky Alexei Osipovich Ratmansky (russian: Алексей Осипович Ратманский, born August 27, 1968) is a Russian-American choreographer and former ballet dancer. From 2004 to 2008 he was the director of the Bolshoi Ballet. He left Rus ...

. According to colleague Jonathan Porretta, she could jump as high as the men in the company. A video of Imler dancing the 32

fouetté In dance and gymnastics, a turn is a rotation of the body about the vertical axis. It is usually a complete rotation of the body, although quarter (90°) and half (180°) turns are possible for some types of turns. Multiple, consecutive turns are ...

turns from the Black Swan pas de deux from ''Swan Lake'' went viral on YouTube. Imler retired from performing in 2017. In her last performance, she danced Balanchine's ''

Theme and Variations In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve melody, rhythm, harmony, counterpoint, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these. Variation techniques Mozart's Twelve ...

'', the Black Swan pas de deux, an excerpt from Tharp's ''

Nine Sinatra Songs ''Nine Sinatra Songs'' is a ballet choreographed by Twyla Tharp to songs sung by Frank Sinatra. The ballet is danced by seven couples, portraying different stages of romantic relationships, with ballroom dancing incorporated into the choreography. ...

'' and a new ballet by Kiyon Gaines. Having been in the company for twenty-two years, she and Batkhurel Bold, a frequent partner who retired the same year, are the company's longest-serving principal dancers. Following her retirement, she joined the company school's faculty.

Personal life

Imler started studying at the

Seattle University Seattle University (SeattleU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington. Seattle University is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate prog ...

in 2007, while recovering from a hip injury.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imler, Carrie 1970s births Living people American ballerinas People from Carlisle, Pennsylvania Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancers Prima ballerinas Dancers from Pennsylvania 21st-century American ballet dancers Year of birth missing (living people) Seattle University alumni 21st-century American women