Anna Rose O'Sullivan (born 16 April 1994) is an English ballet dancer and is a principal dancer at the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

. Her promotion to principal dancer took effect in September 2021.

Early life

O'Sullivan was born in

Harrow, London Harrow () is a large town in Greater London, England, and serves as the principal settlement of the London Borough of Harrow. Lying about north-west of Charing Cross and south of Watford, the entire town including its localities had a populat ...

and raised in

Ickenham Ickenham is an area in Greater London, forming the northern part of Uxbridge and within the London Borough of Hillingdon. While no major historical events have taken place in Ickenham, settlements dating back to the Roman occupation of Britai ...

. Her father is a construction contracts manager and her mother works in the NHS. She has two younger brothers and a younger sister. She started dance at age two, and performed with London Children's Ballet. She has also performed in musical theatre, and appeared as Cosette in ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' and in ''

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 children's film, children's Musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes and produced by Albert R. Broccoli. It stars Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Anna Quayle, ...

'' on the West End. She entered The Royal Ballet School at age 11.

Career

O'Sullivan graduated into

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

in 2012. In 2015, she danced her first major role, Clara in ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

''. Her performance was endorsed by Peter Wright, the production's choreographer. She was named First Artist in 2016, Soloist in 2017, First Soloist in 2019, and Principal in 2021. Her first principal role was Alice in ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

'', and she went on to portray other lead roles such as Juliet in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', Princess Aurora in '' The Sleeping Beauty'' and Swanida in '' Coppelia''. In May 2021, the Royal Ballet announced that O'Sullivan's promotion to principal dancer will take effect in September 2021. In March 2022, she debuted as Odette/Odile in ''

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

''.

Selected repertoire

O'Sullivan's repertoire with The Royal Ballet includes:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OSullivan, Anna Rose Living people 1994 births English ballerinas People educated at the Royal Ballet School Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet People from Harrow, London 21st-century British ballet dancers