Adrian Danchig-Waring, Chase Finlay and Ask la Cour
Promoted to Principal Dancer
Lauren King, Ashley Laracey, Megan LeCrone, Lauren Lovette, Georgina Pazcoguin,
Justin Peck, Brittany Pollack, and Taylor Stanley
Promoted to Soloist
New York City, New York - New York City Ballet announced today the promotion of eleven dancers in the Company. Three dancers, Adrian Danchig-Waring, Chase Finlay and Ask la Cour have been promoted to the rank of Principal Dancer, and eight corps de ballet members Lauren King, Ashley Laracey, Megan LeCrone, Lauren Lovette, Georgina Pazcoguin, Justin Peck, Brittany Pollack, and Taylor Stanley have been promoted to Soloist.
Peter Martins, NYCB’s Ballet Master in Chief, made the promotions on Thursday, February 21 just before the Company’s evening performance of Martins’ full-length production of The Sleeping Beauty. All the newly appointed Principal Dancers and Soloists have performed featured roles throughout the two-week run of The Sleeping Beauty, which closes out NYCB’s 2013 winter season with performances through February 24.
Following the winter season the Company will embark on a series of tours, including New York City Ballet MOVES performances at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas (March 5 and 6) and the Fox Centre in St. Louis (March 9 and 10), followed by the Company’s annual performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC (March 26 to March 31), and then performances at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark (April 4 to 8). NYCB will return to the stage in New York for its annual spring performances at the David H. Koch Theater from April 30 to June 9.
New Principal Dancers
Adrian Danchig-Waring was born in San Francisco, California. He began his dance training at the age of 11 at Dance Theatre Seven with David Roxander. Danchig-Waring entered the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of NYCB, in the fall of 2001. In October 2002 he became an apprentice with NYCB, and in June 2003 he joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet. He was promoted to soloist in February 2009.
Most recently Danchig-Waring has danced featured roles in George Balanchine’s Agon, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Cavalier), I’m Old Fashioned, Kammermusik No. 2, Serenade, Symphony in C (Fourth Movement), and Symphony in Three Movements; Jerome Robbins’ The Four Seasons (Summer) and In G Major ; Peter Martins’ Romeo + Juliet (Paris and Benvolio), Swan Lake (Benno and Hungarian), and The Waltz Project ; Mauro Bigonzetti’s Luce Nascosta; Alexei Ratmansky’s Russian Seasons; Christopher Wheeldon’s Les Carillons, Estancia, and Polyphonia; and Wayne McGregor’s Outlier. During the Company’s 2012-2013 Season Danchig-Waring has debuted in such works as Peter Martins’ Bal de Couture, and Jerome Robbins’ Glass Pieces.
Chase Finlay was born in Fairfield, Connecticut, and began his dance training at the age of eight at Ballet Academy East. He went on to study at SAB during the summer of 2007 and later enrolled as a full-time student. Finlay became an apprentice with NYCB in September 2008 and became a member of the corps de ballet in September 2009. He was promoted to soloist in July 2011. Finlay is a recipient of the first Clive Barnes Award for dance in 2010.
Most recently Finlay has danced featured roles in George Balanchine’s Apollo, Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (First Movement), Divertimento No. 15, Duo Concertant, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Cavalier), Liebeslieder Walzer; Symphony in C (First Movement); Jerome Robbins’ 2 & 3 Part Inventions, Glass Pieces, Interplay, and West Side Story Suite; Peter Martins’ Fearful Symmetries, Mirage, and Swan Lake (Pas de Quatre); and Christopher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia. During the Company’s 2012-2013 Season Finlay has debuted in such works as George Balanchine’s Mozartiana and Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux; Jerome Robbins’ NY Export: Opus Jazz (Pas de Deux); and Peter Martins’ Bal de Couture.
Ask la Cour was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and began his dance training at the age of nine at the Royal Danish Ballet School, where he studied with Niels Balle, Adam Lüders, and Colleen Neary. He joined the Royal Danish Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2000.
La Cour joined NYCB as a member of the corps de ballet in the fall of 2002 and was promoted to the rank of soloist in May 2005. La Cour has received several awards, including the 1998 Royal Theatre Award, the 2001 Edith Allers Memorial Award, the 2001 Birger Bartholins Memorial Award, and the 2001 John Roagers Memorial Award.
Most recently la Cour has danced featured roles in George Balanchine’s Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (Fourth Movement), Concerto Barocco, Cortége Hongrois, Episodes, Firebird, The Four Temperaments, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Cavalier), Emeralds from Jewels, Monumentum pro Gesualdo, Movements for Piano and Orchestra, Orpheus, Serenade, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3 (“Elegie”), Vienna Waltzes, Walpurgisnacht Ballet; Western Symphony, and Who Cares? ; Peter Martins’ Barber Violin Concerto, Romeo + Juliet (Friar Lawrence and Lord Capulet), and Swan Lake (Von Rothbart, Russian, and Hungarian); and Jerome Robbins’ In Memory Of… During the Company’s 2012-2013 season la Cour has debuted in such works as George Balanchine’s Diamonds from Jewels and Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2; Peter Martins’ Bal de Couture; and Christopher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia.
New Soloists
