Indiana Woodward

Indiana Woodward (born 1993 or 1994)[1] is a French ballet dancer. She joined the New York City Ballet in 2012, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2021.

Indiana Woodward
Born1993/1994 (age 27–28)
Paris, France
EducationSchool of American Ballet
Occupationballet dancer
Years active2012–present
Current groupNew York City Ballet
Websiteindianawoodward.com

Early life and training

Woodward was born in Paris, to a French filmmaker father and a South African dancer mother, who had worked with choreographer Roland Petit.[2] She lived in Paris until she was three, when her family relocated to Philadelphia.[2] When she was seven, her parents divorced. Woodward, her mother and younger brother moved to Los Angeles, while her father returned to Paris.[2][3]

Woodward's early ballet training was in the Russian ballet style. In California, she trained with Yuri Grigoriev, and attended intensives at Bolshoi Ballet Academy and Kirov Academy of Ballet.[3] When she was fifteen, she was invited to perform at a showcase at Bolshoi. On her way to Moscow, she auditioned for the summer program of the School of American Ballet, the New York City Ballet's affiliated school, despite knowing little about the school, the company or the Balanchine technique, but was accepted on scholarship anyway.[2][3] After the summer, she joined the school full-time. She originated a role in a ballet by Lauren Lovette during the New York Choreographic Institute, and graduated after two years of training.[3]

Career

In August 2012, Woodward became an apprentice with the New York City Ballet. She joined company's corps de ballet in December that year.[4] She was chosen for soloist roles early on in her career, including in Wheeldon's Soirée Musicale. In 2016, she danced as the Sylph in La Sylphide in order to replace an injured dancer.[3] She also created featured roles in Lovette's For Clara and Walker's Ten in Seven.[5]

In February 2017, she was promoted to soloist. Among the ballets she had dance featured roles whilst a soloist include Balanchine's Symphony in C,[1] "Emerald" from Jewels,[6] as Sugar Plum Fairy and Dewdrop in The Nutcracker,[7] Calliope in Apollo,[2] and Butterfly from A Midsummer Night's Dream,[8] Robbins' West Side Story Suite,[9] "Winter" from The Four Seasons, as Juliet in Martins' Romeo + Juliet,[2] as Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty,[10] Wheeldon's Mercurial Manoeuvres, Peck's Year of the Rabbit, The Times Are Racing and Principia,[11][12] and Ratmansky's Pictures at an Exhibition.[13] She also originated roles in Peck's Pulcinella Variations,[14] Tanowitz's Bartók Ballet and Liang's Lineage.[15][16]

In October 2021, Woodward was named principal dancer. Her promotion came soon after the company return to performing after the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as multiple principal dancers' retirements.[1]

Personal life

As of 2018, Woodward lives in West Village, New York.[2]

References
  1. Jacobs, Julia (7 October 2021). "City Ballet Promotes Dancers Amid Veteran Departures". New York Times.
  2. Kourlas, Gia (16 February 2021). "A New Juliet Blooms as a Ballerina". New York Times.
  3. Fuhrer, Margaret (3 April 2017). "Indiana Woodward: Flying High at New York City Ballet". Pointe.
  4. "Indiana Woodward". New York City Ballet. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  5. Blackmore-Dobbyn, Andrew (3 October 2016). "The 21st Century Choreographers at New York City Ballet". Bachtrack.
  6. Escoda, Carla (19 September 2019). "Jewels under pressure: New York City Ballet opens its Fall season". Bachtrack.
  7. Macaulay, Alastair (25 December 2017). "Under City Ballet's 'Nutcracker' Tree, Dancers Find New Roles". New York Times.
  8. Blackmore-Dobbyn, Andrew (29 May 2019). "Two Great Performances at New York City Ballet". Bachtrack.
  9. Harss, Marina (9 May 2018). "New York City Ballet – All Robbins No. 1 – Bernstein Collaborations bill – New York". New York Times.
  10. Kourlas, Gia (19 February 2019). "In 'Sleeping Beauty,' the Hard Work of Being Princess (or Prince)". New York Times.
  11. Nash, Indiana (19 July 2019). "A day in the life of a ballerina". Daily Gazette.
  12. Blackmore-Dobbyn, Andrew (4 October 2017). "A Bushel and Some Pecks at NYC Ballet". Bachtrack.
  13. Harss, Marina (25 April 2019). "New York City Ballet – Pictures at an Exhibition, Oltremare, Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes – New York". DanceTabs.
  14. Harss, Marina (30 September 2017). "New York City Ballet – Fall Gala: new work by Schumacher, Reisen, Lovette, Peck – New York". DanceTabs.
  15. Lansky, Chava Pearl (22 December 2019). "Standout Performances of 2019: NYCB's Indiana Woodward in "Bartók Ballet"". Pointe.
  16. Kourlas, Gia (27 September 2019). "Review: At New York City Ballet, an Intriguing Glimpse of the Future". New York Times.
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