Hee Seo’s Rise at American Ballet Theatre

Hee Seo rehearsing “The Sleeping Beauty” with David Hallberg at American Ballet Theater’s studios

 John Meehan, who was one of the principal dancers in ABT, asked Hee Seo to join the American Ballet Studio Company. In May 2005, she officially joined the main company as an apprentice. A year later, she worked her way up to becoming corps de ballet, which is the body dancers that act as a crucial part of the performance. Her first role in ABT was Ballet Imperial by George Balanchine, and she was chosen to be the lead of one of the four groups. In 2009, she performed the female lead in McMillian’s Romeo and Juliet, La Sylphide, and on the Dnieper, which began to capture some attention.  In August 2010, she was appointed to be the soloist before she finally became the principal dancer in July 2012.  She was the first Korean ballet dancer to be promoted in ABT’s 75 years of history and at the age of 26 to be the youngest dancer to be promoted. Her first role after becoming the principal dancer was as Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty and the Swan Queen in Swan Lake.  In 2014, three main principal dancers announced their retirement; therefore, she became one of the leading roles. 

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Rubin, Hanna. “ABT's Homegrown Ballerinas: Isabella Boylston, Hee Seo and Sarah Lane

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