Ashley Bouder

Ashley Bouder was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and began her ballet training at the age of six at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet with Marcia Dale Weary. After attending the 1999 Summer Program at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, she was invited by SAB to continue her training during the Winter Session. As a student, Ms. Bouder performed featured roles in Balanchine's Dances Concertantes and Stars and Stripes for the School of American Ballet's 2000 Annual Spring Workshop. Ms. Bouder was named an apprentice with New York City Ballet in June 2000, and became a member of the corps de ballet that October. She was promoted to the rank of soloist in February 2004, and in January 2005, Ms. Bouder was promoted to principal dancer.

In 2002, Ms. Bouder appeared in the nationally televised Live from Lincoln Center broadcast New York City Ballet's Diamond Project: Ten Years of New Choreography on PBS, dancing in Mercurial Manoeuvres. In 2011, Ms. Bouder danced the role of Dewdrop in PBS' Live from Lincoln Center telecast of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, which was also screened in movie theaters around the world. Ms. Bouder was a recipient of the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise in 2000 and was the Janice Levin Dancer Honoree for 2002-2003.