{{Short description|American ballet dancer}} {{Use American English|date=January 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}} {{Infobox dancer | name = Isabella Boylston | image =Isabella Boylston.jpg | caption =Boylston dances for Swans for Relief in May 2020 | birth_name = Hildur Isabella Boylston | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1986|10|13}} | birth_place = Sun Valley, Idaho, U.S. | education = Academy of Colorado Ballet<br />Harid Conservatory | spouse = {{marriage|Daniel Shin|2014}} | occupation = Ballet dancer | years_active = 2005–present | current_group = American Ballet Theatre | website = {{URL|https://www.isabellaboylston.com/|IsabellaBoylston.com}} }}
'''Hildur Isabella Boylston''' (born October 13, 1986) is an American ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT).
==Early life== Boylston was born Hildur Isabella Boylston, named for an Icelandic great-grandmother, in Sun Valley, Idaho. Her father Mike was an American country-blues drummer and "ski bum" while her mother Cornelia was a Swedish engineer.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dancemagazine.com/becoming-isabella-boylston-2316803660.html |title=Becoming Isabella Boylston |work=Dance Magazine |date=March 16, 2017}}</ref><ref name=KourlasNYT/>
When she was seven, her family moved to Boulder, Colorado, where she started training at the Boulder Ballet. By the age of 12, she had started studies at the Colorado Ballet Academy.<ref name="TimeOut 2011">{{cite web |url=http://newyork.timeout.com/arts-culture/dance/1345339/isabella-boylston |title=Isabella Boylston: ABT's real swan speaks up. |author=Kourlas, Gia |work=Time Out New York |date=May 8, 2011}}</ref> During that time, she won a gold medal at the 2001 Youth America Grand Prix Finals in New York City.<ref name="YAGP-2001">{{cite web |title=YAGP 2001 - NEW YORK CITY FINALS - |url=https://yagp.org/events/yagp-2001-new-york-city-finals/ |website=yagp.org |access-date=2022-09-19}}</ref>
In 2002, she received a full scholarship to train at the HARID Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida. During her time there she worked with choreographer Mark Godden and danced in leading roles such as Medora in ''Le Corsaire'', the Paquita pas de trois, Lise in ''La fille mal gardée'' and the Sugarplum Fairy in ''The Nutcracker''. In 2004, she received the Reuger Scholarship for excellence in dance. She participated in summer programs at the School of American Ballet, the Boston Ballet, and the American Ballet Theatre.
==Career== In 2005, Boylston joined the ABT Studio Company and became an apprentice with the main company in May 2006. She joined the corps de ballet in March 2007, was promoted to soloist in June 2011 and principal in August 2014. Lead roles she danced include Nikiya in ''La Bayadère'', Kitri in ''Don Quixote'' and Columbine in ''Harlequinade''. Boylston won the Princess Grace Award in 2009 and was nominated for the 2010 Prix Benois de la Danse.<ref name="ABT bio">{{cite web |title=Isabella Boylston |url=https://www.abt.org/people/isabella-boylston/ |website=American Ballet Theatre |accessdate=June 5, 2019}}</ref>
Outside of ABT, she also designed costumes for the Pacific Northwest Ballet's 2010 production of Benjamin Millepied's ''3 Movements'', a ballet set to Steve Reich's ''Three Movements for Orchestra''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-01-19/dance/a-breeze-from-the-pacific-northwest-ballet/ |title=A Breeze From the Pacific Northwest Ballet: Seattle leaps saucily onto the Joyce Theater stage |publisher=The Village Voice |author=Jowitt, Deborah |author-link=Deborah Jowitt |date=January 19, 2010 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-date=April 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425131502/http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-01-19/dance/a-breeze-from-the-pacific-northwest-ballet/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> She has appeared as a guest artist with the Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg and the Royal Danish Ballet.<ref name="ABT bio"/> Boylston also served as Jennifer Lawrence's dance double in 2018 film ''Red Sparrow'', choreographed by Justin Peck.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/27/arts/dance/jennifer-lawrence-red-sparrow-kurt-froman-isabella-boylston.html |title=How a Dance Dream Team Turned Jennifer Lawrence Into a Ballerina |work=New York Times |last=Kourlas |first=Gia |date=February 27, 2018 |access-date=April 14, 2020}}</ref> In 2019, she helped breaking the Guinness World Record for the most dancers ever to go on pointe at the same time, alongside James Whiteside on ''Live with Kelly and Ryan''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dancemagazine.com/most-dancers-on-pointe-2639806233.html |title=James Whiteside and Isabella Boylston Want You to Help Them Set a Guinness World Record |work=Dance Magazine |date=August 13, 2019}}</ref>
Alastair Macaulay of the ''New York Times'' noted Boylston portrayal of Lise in ''La Fille mal gardée'' is "intimate, heartfelt, rapturous."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/arts/dance/review-dancing-chickens-and-a-real-pony-in-american-ballet-theaters-comic-pastoral.html |title=Review: Dancing Chickens and a Real Pony in American Ballet Theater's Comic Pastoral |work=New York Times |last=Macaulay |first=Alastair |date=May 25, 2016 |access-date=April 15, 2020}}</ref> On ''Swan Lake'', Macaulay praised Boylston's musicality and phrasing.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/arts/dance/review-abt-american-ballet-theater-swan-lake-isabella-boylston-alban-lendorf.html |title=Review: Two True Artists, One Dramatically Limp 'Swan Lake' |work=New York Times |last=Macaulay |first=Alastair |date=June 13, 2017 |access-date=April 15, 2020}}</ref>
In 2020, Boylston participated in Misty Copeland's fundraiser, Swans for Relief, by dancing ''The Swan'', in light of the impacts of the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic on the dance community. The fund will go to participating dancers' companies and other related relief funds.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dancemagazine.com/ballet-dancer-relief-fund-2645933643.html |title=32 Ballerinas From Around the World Perform "The Dying Swan" for COVID-19 Relief |work=Dance Magazine |date=May 6, 2020}}</ref>
==Selected repertoire== Boylston's repertory with the American Ballet Theatre includes: {{columns-list|colwidth=20em| *Nikiya and Gamzatti - ''La Bayadère'' *The Ballerina - ''The Bright Stream'' *Fairy Godmother and the Fairy Summer - Frederick Ashton’s ''Cinderella'' *Moss - James Kudelka’s ''Cinderella'' *Aurora - ''Coppélia'' *Gulnare and an Odalisque - ''Le Corsaire'' *Kitri and a flower girl - ''Don Quixote'' *The second girl - ''Fancy Free'' *Lise - ''La Fille mal gardée'' *The Firebird - Alexei Ratmansky’s ''The Firebird'' *Giselle, the peasant pas de deux and Myrtha - ''Giselle'' *Jane Eyre - ''Jane Eyre'' *Manon and Lescaut’s Mistress ''Manon'' *Clara the Princess - ''The Nutcracker'' *Olga - ''Onegin'' *''Other Dances'' *Juliet and a Harlot - ''Romeo and Juliet'' *Princess Aurora and Princess Florine - Ratmansky’s ''The Sleeping Beauty'' *Princess Florine and the Fairy of Fervor - ''The Sleeping Beauty'' *Odette/Odile, the pas de trois and the Polish Princess in ''Swan Lake'' *The Mazurka - ''Les Sylphides'' *Sylvia and Persephone - ''Sylvia'' *''Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux'' *The lead - ''Theme and Variations'' *Princess Tea Flower - ''Whipped Cream'' *''Bach Partita'' *''Monotones'' *''Symphony in C''
===Created roles=== *Columbine in Alexei Ratmansky's ''Harlequinade'' *The Spirit of the Corn in Ratmansky’s ''The Seasons'' *The Diamond Fairy in Ratmansky's ''The Sleeping Beauty'' *Ratmansky's ''Chamber Symphony'' *Christopher Wheeldon’s ''Thirteen Diversions'' *Gemma Bond's ''A Time There Was'' *Lauri Stallings' ''Citizen'' *Ratmansky's ''Dumbarton'' *Demis Volpi's ''Private Light'' }}
==Personal life== Boylston is married to financier Daniel Shin.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://observer.com/2018/05/isabella-boylston-brings-realism-to-american-ballet-theatre-2018-season/ |title=Isabella Boylston Is the Dancer Bringing Realism to American Ballet |work=Observer |last=Isherwood |first=Charles |date=May 16, 2018 |access-date=April 14, 2020}}</ref> In February 2026, she announced that she is pregnant with their first child.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://people.com/american-ballet-theatre-isabella-boylston-pregnant-expecting-first-baby-11899732|last=Anello|first=Desiree|date=February 4, 2026|title=American Ballet Theatre's Isabella Boylston Is Pregnant, Postpones Her 20th Anniversary Celebration with the Company|access-date=February 6, 2026}}</ref> They live in Brooklyn, New York.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/isabella-boylstons-brookyn-apartment |title=Isabella Boylston's Brooklyn Apartment Is an Art-Filled Oasis |work=Architectural Digest |last=Sessums |first=Zoë |date=February 25, 2020 |access-date=April 14, 2020}}</ref>
== See also ==
==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=KourlasNYT>{{cite news |last=Kourlas |first=Gia |title=Isabella Boylston on Treasuring 'Giselle' and Trusting Herself |newspaper=New York Times |location=New York City, United States |date=May 8, 2015 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/arts/dance/isabella-boylston-on-treasuring-giselle-and-trusting-herself.html?ref=dance&_r=0 |accessdate=May 11, 2015}}</ref> }}
==External links== * {{Official website|https://www.isabellaboylston.com/}} * [https://www.abt.org/people/isabella-boylston/ Isabella Boylston] at American Ballet Theatre
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Boylston, Isabella}} Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:People from Sun Valley, Idaho Category:American Ballet Theatre principal dancers Category:Princess Grace Awards winners Category:Dancers from Idaho Category:American prima ballerinas Category:21st-century American ballet dancers Category:American people of Icelandic descent Category:American people of Swedish descent Category:21st-century American women