5 Questions with... Megan Fairchild
, May 8, 2026
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and initially trained at Dance Concepts in Sandy, Utah, and at the Ballet West Conservatory in Salt Lake City, Principal Dancer Megan Fairchild entered the School of American Ballet (SAB) in the fall of 2000. In November 2001, she became an apprentice with New York City Ballet, joining the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in October 2002; she was promoted to the rank of soloist in February 2004 and to principal dancer in January 2005. Fairchild was a Teaching Fellow at SAB from 2012-16 and a frequent guest teacher during the 2017-18 winter and summer training programs, joining the School’s faculty in September 2018.
While a member of the company, Fairchild has performed featured roles across the repertory, including in George Balanchine's Allegro Brillante, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Symphony in C, and the 2025 revival of his Sylvia: Pas de Deux; Jerome Robbins' Andantino, Brandenburg, and Dances at a Gathering; Peter Martins’ Barber Violin Concerto, Jeu de Cartes, and The Sleeping Beauty; Justin Peck's Everywhere We Go and The Most Incredible Thing; Alexei Ratmansky's Odesa and Russian Seasons; Christopher Wheeldon's DGV: Danse à Grande Vitesse and Polyphonia; and many more. She originated featured roles in Peck's Copland Dance Episodes; Ratmansky's Namouna, A Grand Divertissement and Voices; Wheeldon's From You Within Me; Angelin Preljocaj’s Spectral Evidence; Susan Stroman’s “The Blue Necklace” from Double Feature; and others.
In 2011, 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. She made her Broadway debut in the Tony Award-nominated revival of On the Town at the Lyric Theater in 2014, which earned her an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination and a Theatre World Award for her portrayal of Ivy Smith (AKA Miss Turnstiles).
After 25 inimitable years with NYCB, Fairchild will bid the NYCB stage adieu following the Sunday, May 24 matinee performance of Balanchine's Coppélia. We caught up with her between rehearsals to learn more about her favorite roles, lasting memories, and impactful mentors.
While Fairchild’s farewell performance has limited availability, she is also scheduled to perform the role of Swanilda in Coppélia on Friday, May 22. Additional appearances before her final performance include leading roles in Divertimento No. 15 on Sunday, May 10 (Eclectic NYCB II), and Sunday, May 17 at 11 AM (Sensory-Friendly Performance), as well as Zakouski on Tuesday, May 14 (Eclectic NYCB II).
Who has been an important influence or inspiration to you as a performer?
Do you have any special memories from your years in training at SAB?
Working with Merrill Ashley on Ballo della Regina for SAB's Workshop was a special time that I’ve always drawn on. It set the stage for me regarding the amount of detail and attention that goes into each moment of these ballets. As I was just at the beginning of my career and figuring it all out, we had a lot to discuss—and I learned a lot from her. It really set the bar pretty high on the standard to expect from myself. No one is more meticulous than Merrill!
What is your favorite role to perform onstage?
Is there a tour memory that you cherish, or look back on and laugh?
Yes! The Hong Kong tour is engrained in my memory for some reason. The people in the company at the time made for some really fun and memorable moments. Everyone was going to get custom suits made, and my brother [former NYCB Principal Dancer Robert Fairchild] requested a shorts suit, like a safari suit. The color he picked for it was like a light, muted hospital-scrubs blue. And we had so many amazing laughs about how bad it was. Jeni Ringer stole it from him and wore it around the hotel bar one night. We were all dying of laughter.
Are there any roles or ballets that you wish you’d had a chance to perform?
I would have loved to have done the "mad ballerina" from Robbins’ The Concert. I really love hearing the audience laugh, and obviously there aren’t that many roles for a ballerina where that happens. I love moments of levity in this serious world of ballet, and that role looked like a blast. I always loved watching Maria Kowroski or Sterling Hyltin do it!
Photos from Voices and Ballo Della Regina © Erin Baiano. Photo from Square Dance © Paul Kolnik.
