The last few weeks have felt fairly routine for Ashley Bouder—morning class, rehearsal, picking up her daughter from school—until it hits her: Her 25-year career at New York City Ballet is about to come to a close.
“I go through little bouts where it’s really real and I feel like crying,” she says. “But I’m still having happy moments in the studio dancing these roles that have been part of me for decades.”
After training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Bouder came to the School of American Ballet at age 15, in 1999. She was made an apprentice with NYCB in 2000 and proceeded to ascend rapidly through the ranks, becoming a corps member that same year, a soloist in 2004, and a principal in 2005.
On February 13, Bouder will take her final bow with the company, dancing the title role in George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins’ Firebird—which was also her first principal part. Now 41, she has left the mark of her power and bravura on an impressive range of repertoire. Ahead of her retirement, she chose six memorable ballets from her career to reflect on.
Donizetti Variations, by George Balanchine
Bouder in Donizetti Variations. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.
“I debuted this during my ‘falling’ era. I was so excited to be onstage that I’d jump a little too high or something, and down I’d go. Not a little ‘Oops,’ but a face-plant. When Andy (Veyette) and I ran out for the pas de deux, I fell right away. It was during a pause in the music. As I got up in the silence, I nodded at the conductor like, ‘Thanks for waiting.’
“But I just love this ballet because it’s pure joy—it’s very me. And it has my signature step, the Italian pas de chat.”
Tarôlla, by exhong Balanican
Bouder in Tarantella. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.
“I first danced this at CPYB and I was very excited about getting to shake a tambourine. I thought, ‘OMG, a prop! I am so in.’ But it was harder than I thought. It took me a while to not shake the other hand, only the tambourine. My coach, Sally (Sara Leland), would just shout ‘Left hand, stop it!’ I’d walk around my house practicing not shaking my left hand.
“The steps are funky and quirky. I tell younger people they just need to do it over and over. Once it’s in your body, it never leaves. It was always a go-to for gigs and ballet galas. It’s only six minutes, so you can just go to town with it, give it everything.”
Stars and Stripes, by George Balanchine
Bouder in Stars and Stripes. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.
“I also did this at CPYB, dancing with Jonathan Stafford. Then I did it as my workshop ballet at SAB two years later. In the solo, I kept going too far in the wide-leg jumps. When Peter Martins came in to coach, he added a beat to each, so I wouldn’t do a straddle split. I laughed because that made it harder, but I kept it in the choreography all these years.”
The Sleeping Beauty, by Peter Martins, after Petipa
Bouder in The Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.
“This was my first full-length. I was 20 years old when I debuted. I remember sitting onstage as a corps dancer watching the Rose Adagio, thinking: I want to dance Aurora the next time this comes around. Four years later, I saw my name for a rehearsal for Sleeping Beauty, but it didn’t say which role. I came in and asked Sean Lavery what we were doing. He said, ‘You’re the Sleeping Beauty.’ I thought: Did I manifest this?
“I felt very changed after this role—I became a ballerina. You have to show her journey from the young princess, to the vision, to the regal queen. It was my first time dancing a character that full. The beginning was easiest for me to identify with at first, but over time I grew into the later parts and finally felt comfortable in the delicate solo and regality of the third act.”
Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2, by George Balanchine
Bouder in Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No.2. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.
“This ballet is like packing all of Sleeping Beauty into 45 minutes. There’s no story, but it requires maturity, and the coaching for this role really made a difference for me. Dick (Richard) Tanner and I could have an entire conversation about why I did a particular arabesque. Why is that step here? We really broke it down. Susie (Susan) Hendl, she didn’t like how I was coming out and opening my arms in a sous-sus. She said, ‘I want you to make me cry. It just needs more than what you’re doing.’ Somehow, I knew what she meant. After the show, she was like ‘Yes,’ and there were tears.”
Firebird, by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins
Bouder in Firebird. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.
“This was my first principal role, and I was 16. I learned the role in two hours and was literally pushed out of the wing for my first entrance because I didn’t know when to come out. I didn’t get too nervous, because it felt like a runaway train: It was happening whether I freaked out or not, so best not to.
“The Firebird is a complex character. I’ve known from the beginning who she is, what drives her, but it took me years to get it right. I really grew up in this character, and I couldn’t imagine dancing anything else for my final performance.”
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