Teresa Reichlen
Teresa Reichlen is an American ballet dancer. She is currently a principal dancer at the New York City Ballet.[2]
Teresa Reichlen | |
---|---|
Born | 1985/1986 (age 34–35)[1] Clifton, Virginia, U.S. |
Education | School of American Ballet |
Occupation | ballet dancer |
Years active | 2011-present |
Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
Current group | New York City Ballet |
Early life
Reichlen was born in Clifton, Virginia. She has three brother. At age three, her parents sent her to ballet classes. At age ten, she started training at Russell School of Ballet in Northern Virginia. She is the first person from that school to be accepted by the School of American Ballet, but she delayed for a year before entering SAB in 1999, at age 15. She first attended a summer intensives at the School of American Ballet, and stayed in New York City as a full-time student afterwards.[1][2][3]
Career
In 2000, at age sixteen, Reichlen got an apprenticeship at the New York City Ballet.[4] She thought she would join Pacific Northwest Ballet, which is known for hiring taller dancers, but ended up joining the corps de ballet the following year. At age 19, Reichlen danced the solo role in "Rubies" from Jewels. She was promoted to soloist in 2005. In 2009, at age 25, she became a principal dancer.[1][2][3] She has danced lead roles in works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Justin Peck and Christopher Wheeldon.[5]
In the 2004-05 season, Reichlen was the Janice Levin Dancer Honorees, which is given to promising corps members at the NYCB.[6]
Reichlen had also performed with Wheeldon’s company, Morphoses, and Columbia Ballet Collaborative.[3][7] In 2010, Reichlen performed in Cuba, alongside several other NYCB dancers.[8]
In 2018, after NYCB was sued by Alexandra Waterbury, a former student at SAB, Reichlen spoke on behalf of the dancers at NYCB's fall fashion gala. The speech was written by her and fellow principal dancer Adrian Danchig-Waring. Though she did not name the lawsuit or anyone involved, she noted, "we will not put art before common decency or allow talent to sway our moral compass."[9][10]
Reviews
On Symphony in C, the New York Times noted Reichlen "contrasted the airy movement of her extraordinary limbs with the unfussy regal way she glides through most choreography."[11]
Reviewing Western Symphony, Bachtrack wrote Reichlen "made a series of traveling relevés into high extensions look like child’s play."[12]
Selected repertoire
Reichlen's repertoire with the New York City Ballet includes:[2]
- After The Rain
- Agon
- Apollo (Polyhymnia)
- Concerto Barocco
- Coppélia (Dawn)
- DGV: Danse à Grande Vitesse (NYCB Premiere)
- The Firebird
- Harlequinade (La Bonne Fée)
- "Emeralds" and "Rubies" from Jewels
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (Titania, Hippolyta)
- The Nutcracker (Sugarplum Fairy, Dewdrop, Coffee, Flowers)
- Orpheus (Eurydice)
- Polyphonia
- Raymonda Variations
- Serenade
- The Sleeping Beauty (Lilac Fairy, Carabosse, Diamond)
- Stars and Stripes
- Swan Lake (Balanchine version) (Odette)
- Swan Lake (Martins version) (Odette/Odile, Pas de Quatre, Russian, Princess)
- Symphony in C (Second Movement)
- Walpurgisnacht Ballet
- Western Symphony (Rondo)
- The Four Seasons (Summer)
Created roles
- Bal de Couture
- Clearing Dawn
- Common Ground
- Everywhere We Go
- Luce Nascosta
- Plainspoken
- Year of the Rabbit
Personal life
Reichlen studied biology in Barnard College.[3]
References
- "A Beat of Her Own". Virginia Living. April 1, 2019.
- "Teresa Reichlen". New York City Ballet. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
- "A Young Ballerina Learns to Use Her Height to Artistic Advantage". New York Times. January 3, 2008.
- "Teresa Reichlen – New York City Ballet – Principal". Dancetabs. February 19, 2013.
- "NYCB Principal Teresa Reichlen Writes a Letter to Her Teenage Self". Dance Spirit. July 16, 2019.
- "Levin Award". New York City Ballet. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- "Six New Works in a Program With Three Guest Appearances". New York Times. April 11, 2010.
- "A Cultural Leap Across a Political Divide". New York Times. November 2, 2010.
- "NYCB Dancers Speak Out Against Harassment at the Fall Gala". Dance Magazine. September 28, 2018.
- "'We, the Dancers': At City Ballet's Gala, Affirming Ballet's Honor". New York Times. 28 September 2019.
- "Women Ferocious and Regal". New York Times. October 4, 2012.
- "Order and disorder: Balanchine and Tanowitz square off at New York City Ballet". Bachtrack. May 11, 2019.