Sasha De Sola is an American

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

. She is a principal dancer at the

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...

Early life

De Sola was born in

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was f ...

. Both of her parents are musicians. She started dancing at age 3. She trained at

Kirov Academy of Ballet The Kirov Academy of Ballet (formerly the Universal Ballet Academy) was a ballet school in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1989. It closed in May 2022 due to financial issues. Facilities The Kirov is located on a 1.2 acre campus in northeas ...

on full scholarship.

Career

In 2011, De Sola joined the

as an apprentice at age 17, and became a member of the corps de ballet the following year. She was named soloist in 2012 and principal dancer in 2017. She has danced roles such as Princess Aurora in '' The Sleeping Beauty'', Titiana in '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'', Princess/Henriette in ''The Little Mermaid'', and Kitri in ''

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 West ...

''. She has also originated roles such as

Stanton Welch Stanton De Burgh Welch (born 1969) is an Australian dancer and choreographer. He currently serves as the Artistic Director of the Houston Ballet. Early life Welch was born in Melbourne to Marilyn Jones and Garth Welch, two prominent Australia ...

's ''Bespoke'',

Dwight Rhoden Dwight Rhoden is an American choreographer and artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet who began dancing at the age of 17 while studying acting. He has performed with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Les Ballet Jazz de Montréa ...

's ''LET'S BEGIN AT THE END'' and Trey McIntyre’s ''Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem'' Reviewing her debut as Princess Aurora in ''The Sleeping Beauty'', the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'' wrote she “finds an emotional line through this passive character and molds steps into statements”. On a mixed bill performance which includes ''Bespoke'' and ''Hummingbird'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' noted De Sola "transformed from the prim perfection of a pageant queen in ''Bespoke'' to earnest, lyrical dancer of ''Hummingbird'' in the time it took to change costumes." Outside of San Francisco Ballet, De Sola has appeared in international galas in United States,

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. In 2018, a bilingual children's book based on De Sola's life, ''On Tiptoes - De Puntitas'' was published.

Selected repertoire

De Sola's repertoire with the San Francisco Ballet includes:

Awards

*Silver medal - Professional Division at the World International Ballet Competition, Orlando, Florida, 2017. *Best Junior Couple Prize - USA International Ballet Competition, Jackson, Mississippi, 2006. *Junior Division bronze medal - Varna International Ballet Competition, Varna, Bulgaria, 2006.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:De Sola, Sasha San Francisco Ballet principal dancers American ballerinas Living people People from Winter Park, Florida Year of birth missing (living people) Prima ballerinas Dancers from Florida 21st-century American ballet dancers 21st-century American women