Taylor G. Stanley (born May 30, 1991) is an American ballet dancer who is currently a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, p ...

with the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

Early life

Stanley was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

to a mixed-race family, and was raised in

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neighb ...

. At age three, they started learning ballet, tap, jazz and hip hop at

The Rock School for Dance Education The Rock School for Dance Education is a classical ballet school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, along the city's Avenue of the Arts. The school offers dance training for students age three and older, with pre-professional programs for stu ...

. Initially they thought they would pursue a career in commercial dance, but their parents and teachers encouraged them to focus on ballet. At age 15, Stanley attended a summer course at the Miami City Ballet School. Two years later, Stanley attended a summer intensive 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 ...

in New York City, then was asked there and to train full time for a year. At the workshop performance of SAB, they performed

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 ...

's '' Stars and Stripes''. They also received the Mae L. Wien Awards for Outstanding Promise that year.

Career

Stanley became an apprentice at the

in 2009, and joined the corps de ballet the following year. While they were still in the corps, they danced Romeo in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

''. Stanley received the Janice Levin Dancer Award in 2011–12, which is given to promising corps dancers of NYCB. They were promoted to soloist in 2013 and principal dancer in 2016. They had dance lead roles in

's and

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

' works. For their debut in the title role of ''

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

'', Stanley was coached by Craig Hall, the first African-American dancer in the company to dance that role. They had also originated roles under choreographers such as

Justin Peck Justin Peck (born September 8, 1987) is an American choreographer, director, and dancer associated with New York City Ballet, of which he was appointed Resident Choreographer in July 2014, being the second person in the history of the instituti ...

Lauren Lovette Lauren Lovette (born November 10, 1991) is an American ballet dancer and choreographer who was previously a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. Early life and education Lovette was born in Thousand Oaks, California, and started her ...

and

Kyle Abraham Kyle Abraham (born August 14, 1977) is an American choreographer and dancer. He founded his own company A.I.M by Kyle Abraham (formerly Abraham.In.Motion) in 2006 in New York City and has produced many original works for A.I.M such as ''The Rad ...

. In 2019, Stanley won a

Bessie Awards The New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, are awarded annually for exceptional achievement by independent dance artists presenting their work in New York City. The broad categories of the awards are: choreography, ...

for Abraham's '' The Runaway''. Outside of New York City Ballet, Stanley danced with their colleague

Troy Schumacher Troy Schumacher is an American choreographer, dancer, and director based in New York City. He is a soloist in the New York City Ballet and has choreographed for the company since 2014; before being promoted to soloist, he danced in NYCB's corps d ...

's side project,

BalletCollective BalletCollective is a New York based Non-Profit arts collective that connects artists, composers, and choreographers to create new, ballet-based works. Through its unique collaborative process, Balletcollective expands the boundaries of artistic d ...

. They also took classes at

Nederlands Dans Theater Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT; literal translation Netherlands Dance Theatre) is a Dutch contemporary dance company. NDT is headquartered at the ''Amare'' building in The Hague. NDT also performs at other venues in the Netherlands, including Amste ...

and studied

Gaga Gaga ( he, גע גע literally 'touch touch') (also: ga-ga, gaga ball, or ga-ga ball) is a variant of dodgeball that is played in a gaga "pit". The game combines dodging, striking, running, and jumping, with the objective of being the last perso ...

Batsheva Dance Company The Batsheva Dance Company (Hebrew: להקת בת שבע) is a renowned dance company based in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was founded by Martha Graham and Baroness Batsheva de Rothschild in 1964. Its inception was inspired by Israel's growing intere ...

in Tel Aviv.

Personal life

Stanley is openly gay and uses they/them pronouns. As of 2015, Stanley is pursuing a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree through St. Mary's College of California's LEAP program.

Selected repertoire

Stanley's repertoire with the New York City ballet includes: *''

'' *''Bournonville Divertissements'' (Ballabile from ''

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

'') *''

Carousel (A Dance) ''Carousel (A Dance)'' is a ballet made by New York City Ballet resident choreographer Christopher Wheeldon to the music of '' Carousel Waltz'' and '' If I Loved You'' (1945) by Richard Rodgers, arranged and orchestrated by William David Brohn. ...

'' *'' The Four Seasons'' *"Emeralds" from ''

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 ...

'' *''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' (Puck, Bottom) *''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

'' (Cavalier, Hot Chocolate) *'' N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz'' *''

Romeo + Juliet Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy '' Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a pr ...

'' (Romeo) *''

Polyphonia ''Polyphonia'' is a one-act ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon to music by György Ligeti, costumes designed by Holly Hynes, and was created for the New York City Ballet. It premiered on January 4, 2001 at the New York State Theater. I ...

'' *'' The Sleeping Beauty'' (Puss in Boots) *''

Square Dance A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances contain elements from numerous traditional dances and were first documente ...

'' *''

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 ...

'' (Benno, Russian, Spanish) *'' Symphony in C'' (Third Movement) *''

The Times Are Racing ''The Times Are Racing'' is a one-act ballet by Justin Peck, to "USA I-IV" from Dan Deacon's album '' America'', with costumes designed by Humberto Leon from the fashion label Opening Ceremony and lighting design by Brandon Stirling Baker. It ...

'' *''

Year of the Rabbit The rabbit ( 兔) is the fourth in the twelve-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Rabbit is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 卯. In the Vietnamese zodiac and t ...

Created roles

*''Belles-Lettres'' *''Capricious Maneuvers'' *''Everywhere We Go'' *'' In Creases'' *''Mes Oiseaux'' *''The Most Incredible Thing'' (The *Creator) *''New Blood'' *''Not Our Fate'' *''Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes'' *''Odessa'' *''Polaris'' *''Principia'' *'' The Runaway'' *''Scherzo Fantastique'' *''The Shaded Line'' *''The Shimmering Asphalt'' *''SOMETHING TO DANCE ABOUT Jerome Robbins, Broadway to Ballet'' *''ten in seven''

Awards and honors

*2009:

Mae L. Wien Award 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 ...

*2011–12: Janice Levin Award *2019:

Bessie Award The New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, are awarded annually for exceptional achievement by independent dance artists presenting their work in New York City. The broad categories of the awards are: choreography, ...

for Outstanding Performer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Taylor 1991 births Living people American male ballet dancers School of American Ballet alumni New York City Ballet principal dancers People from West Chester, Pennsylvania Dancers from Pennsylvania Bessie Award winners 21st-century American ballet dancers LGBT dancers LGBT people from Pennsylvania Mae L. Wien Award recipients Janice Levin Award dancers