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Megan Fairchild

Megan Fairchild is a principal dancer with New York City Ballet.

Ms. Fairchild was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and began her dance training at the age of four, studying with Judy Levitre and Kaelynne Oliphant at Dance Concepts in Sandy, Utah, and at the Ballet West Conservatory in Salt Lake City with Sharee Lane, Deborah Dobson, and Maureen Laird.

While at the Ballet West Conservatory, Ms. Fairchild was also a Ballet West trainee. Ms. Fairchild entered the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, in the fall of 2000.

In November 2001, Ms. Fairchild became an apprentice with New York City Ballet, and in October 2002 she joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet.

Ms. Fairchild was promoted to the rank of soloist in February 2004, and in January 2005, she was promoted to principal dancer.

GEORGE BALANCHINE

  • Apollo (Calliope)
  • Allegro Brillante
  • Ballo della Regina
  • Chaconne
  • Coppélia (Swanilda)
  • Danses Concertantes
  • Divertimento from 'Le Baiser de la Fée'
  • Divertimento No. 15
  • Donizetti Variations
  • Duo Concertant
  • "Emeralds" from Jewels
  • George Balanchine's The Nutcracker® (Sugarplum Fairy, Dewdrop, Marzipan, Dolls)
  • Harlequinade (Pierrette)
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream (Butterfly, Divertissement)
  • Raymonda Variations
  • "Rubies" from Jewels
  • Serenade
  • Sonatine
  • La Source
  • Square Dance
  • Stars and Stripes
  • The Steadfast Tin Soldier
  • Swan Lake
  • Symphony in C (First Movement, Third Movement)
  • Tarantella
  • Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux
  • Theme and Variations
  • Union Jack
  • Valse-Fantaisie
  • Vienna Waltzes
  • Western Symphony (Adagio)
  • Who Cares?

AUGUST BOURNONVILLE

  • La Sylphide (The Sylph)

ELIOT FELD

  • Intermezzo No. 1 (NYCB Premiere)

EDWAARD LIANG

  • Lineage

PETER MARTINS

  • Barber Violin Concerto
  • A Fool for You
  • Eight Easy Pieces
  • Eros Piano
  • Fearful Symmetries
  • Jeu de Cartes
  • The Magic Flute (Lise)
  • Octet
  • Papillons
  • Sinfonia
  • The Sleeping Beauty (Aurora, Ruby, Princess Florine)
  • Songs of the Auvergne
  • Swan Lake (Odette/Odile, Pas de Trois, Pas de Quatre, Neapolitan)
  • Zakouski

JUSTIN PECK

  • Everywhere We Go
  • The Most Incredible Thing (The Cuckoo Bird)

ALEXEI RATMANSKY

  • Namouna, A Grand Divertissement
  • Odesa
  • Russian Seasons

JEROME ROBBINS

  • Andantino
  • Brandenburg
  • Dances at a Gathering
  • The Four Seasons (Winter)
  • The Goldberg Variations
  • In G Major
  • Piano Pieces

LIAM SCARLETT

  • Acheron

CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON

  • DGV: Danse à Grande Vitesse
  • Mercurial Manoeuvres
  • Polyphonia

Sidra Bell

  • SUSPENDED ANIMATIONS

Robert La Fosse

  • Land of Nod (Natalie)

Peter Martins

  • Bal de Couture
  • Naïve and Sentimental Music

Justin Peck

  • Copland Dance Episodes

Angelin Preljocaj

  • Spectral Evidence

Alexei Ratmansky

  • Namouna, A Grand Divertissement
  • Voices

Susan Stroman

  • "The Blue Necklace" from Double Feature (Florence)

Christopher Wheeldon

  • From You Within Me
  • Shambards

Anatomy of A Dance

NYC Ballet's Megan Fairchild on George Balanchine's COPPÉLIA

Megan Fairchild recalls the first time she interpreted the lead role of Swanilda—a performance run which necessitated her performing in every three-act show. Though the journey to Coppélia was arduous, Fairchild reflects on its parallels to her journey as a dancer, and on her gratitude to the experience for helping her realize her potential.

ANATOMY OF A DANCE

MEGAN FAIRCHILD ON BALLO DELLA REGINA

Principal Dancer Megan Fairchild has been performing the lead in Ballo della Regina since her capstone SAB Workshop performance. During the ballet's only adagio movement, she reflects on learning the role from originator Merrill Ashley and the work's significance to her artistic development.

Screen Test

Megan Fairchild

A Salt Lake City, UT native, Megan Fairchild originally had her sights set on companies out west until a fortuitous scholarship brought her to the School of American Ballet. The rest is history, and Megan shares how she has since balanced her performing career, graduate studies, and growing family while still giving herself time to unwind.

Anatomy of a Dance

Megan Fairchild on DANCES AT A GATHERING

Megan Fairchild discusses the subtle nuances that come with dancing the Green Girl, and how the role has a different flavor and feeling than others in Dances at a Gathering.

Anatomy of a Dance

Megan Fairchild on Ratmansky’s RUSSIAN SEASONS

Megan Fairchild describes what it’s like to dance with three male partners whom she can’t acknowledge on stage, and who are invisible to her character. She especially highlights the trust that develops between them – which leads to a haunting image of a sleepwalking woman ascending a staircase.

OTHER PERFORMANCES

In 2014 Ms. Fairchild made her Broadway debut in the Tony Award–nominated revival of On the Town at the Lyric Theater. She was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award, and received a Theatre World Award for her portrayal of Ivy Smith, AKA Miss Turnstiles.

FILM CREDITS

In 2011, Ms. Fairchild danced the role of the Sugarplum Fairy in PBS’ Live From Lincoln Center telecast of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® which was also screened in movie theaters around the world. 

HONORS

Ms. Fairchild was a recipient of the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise in 2001.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Ms. Fairchild is currently on faculty with the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet.

Portrait © Erin Baiano