Taylor Stanley

Taylor G. Stanley[1] (born May 30, 1991)[2] is an American ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet.

Taylor Stanley
Born (1991-05-30) May 30, 1991
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
EducationSchool of American Ballet
OccupationBallet dancer
Years active2009–present
Current groupNew York City Ballet

Early life

Stanley was born in Philadelphia[3] to a mixed-race family,[4] and was raised in West Chester, Pennsylvania.[5] At age 3, he started learning ballet, tap, jazz and hip hop at The Rock School for Dance Education. Initially he thought he would pursue a career in commercial dance, but his parents and teachers encouraged him 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 in New York City, then was asked there and to train full time for a year.[6][7] At the workshop performance of SAB, he performed George Balanchine's Stars and Stripes.[2] He also received the Mae L. Wien Awards for Outstanding Promise that year.[8]

Career

Stanley became an apprentice at the New York City Ballet in 2009, and joined the corps de ballet the following year. While he was still in the corps, he danced Romeo in Romeo and Juliet.[6] Stanley received the Janice Levin Dancer Award in 2011–12, which is given to promising corps dancers of NYCB.[6][9] He was promoted to soloist in 2013 and principal dancer in 2016. He had dance lead roles in George Balanchine's and Jerome Robbins' works.[6][10] For his debut as the title role of Apollo, Stanley was coached by Craig Hall, the first African-American dancer in the company to dance that role.[7] He had also originated roles with choreographers such as Justin Peck, Lauren Lovette and Kyle Abraham.[6][11][12] In 2019, Stanley won a Bessie Awards for Abraham's The Runaway.[13]

Outside of New York City Ballet, Stanley danced with his colleague Troy Schumacher's side project, BalletCollective. He also took classes at Nederlands Dans Theater and studied Gaga at Batsheva Dance Company in Tel Aviv.[6][7]

Personal life

Stanley is openly gay.[11]

As of 2015, Stanley is pursuing a bachelor of arts degree through St. Mary's College of California's LEAP program.[6]

Selected repertoire

Stanley's repertoire with the New York City ballet includes:[3]

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

References
  1. "@taylor.g.stanley on Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  2. "Prince Charming: Taylor Stanley". Dance Spirit. September 1, 2010. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  3. "Taylor Stanley". New York City Ballet. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  4. Harss, Marina (June 17, 2019). "Why We Can't Take Our Eyes Off of Taylor Stanley". Dance Magazine. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  5. "5W: Taylor Stanley". The Saratogian. July 14, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  6. Schaefer, Brian (August 3, 2015). "Moving Muse: Taylor Stanley Comes Into His Own at New York City Ballet". Pointe Magazine.
  7. Kourlas, Gia (January 17, 2019). "A Ballet Hamlet Becomes a God (Apollo, That Is)". New York Times.
  8. "The Mae L. Wien Awards". School of American Ballet. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  9. "Levin Award". New York City Ballet. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  10. Loeffler-Gladstone, Nicole (May 18, 2016). "Taylor Stanley Is a Principal!". Dance Spirit.
  11. Kourlas, Gia (October 10, 2017). "When Two Men Fall in Love on the Ballet Stage, and Why It Matters". New York Times.
  12. Barber, Elizabeth (October 1, 2018). "Crunch Time for Kyle Abraham at the New York City Ballet". New Yorker.
  13. "Recipients of 2019 Bessie Awards Announced". Artforum. October 15, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
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