The Beauty of Dance, Part Two: Fernanda Oliveira, English National Ballet, London, England, UK

Another principal dancer with the English National Ballet is Fernanda Oliveira, originally from Rio de Janiero.



A principal dancer with the company since 2007, Ms. Oliveira won first prize in Conselho Brasiliero de Dança in her native Brazil. Her roles have included Odette in Swan Lake, the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, and Juliet in Romeo & Juliet.

She likes to spend her free time going bowling.

A woman after my own heart. . . . :-D

The Beauty of Dance, Part Two: Sarah McIlroy, English National Ballet, London, England, UK

Sarah McIlroy is a principal dacner with the English National Ballet.



Her featured roles have included Odile in Swan Lake and Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, in Giselle. She's also performed original roles in Symphonic Dances and Cathy Marston's Facing Viv.

Commented Britain's Daily Telegraph, "The stage is a bit empty when she's not around."

The Beauty of Dance, Part Two: Yayoi Kambara, ODC/Dance, San Francisco, CA

Yayoi Kambara is a member of ODC/Dance, one of the most distinguished modern dance companies on the West Coast.



A holder of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance Performance from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Ms. Kambara has performed in other companies in the San Francisco Bay area, such as the STEAMROLLER Dance Company and Flyaway Productions, She joined ODC/Dance in 2003.

The Beauty of Dance, Part Two: Judith Jamison

Judith Jamison is associated more with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which she originally joined in 1965, than anyone except Alvin Ailey himself.



She left the Ailey troupe to pursue a Broadway career in 1981, but when Ailey died in 1989, she returned to the company to become its artistic director, and she has been in that position since then.

The Beauty of Dance, Part Two: Yuka Iino, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Portland, OR

A native of Japan, Yuka Iino was three years old when mother saw her dancing to music from a television set, and sent the little girl to ballet school. Ms. Iino never looked back.



Ms. Iino joined the Oregon Ballet Theater in 2003 after having been a principal dancer in the Reiko Yamamoto Ballet Company. (She became a prinicpal dancer at OBT in 2007.) Her major roles while with the OBT include Odette/Odile in Swan Lake and the title role in Possokhov’s Firebird and Raymonda, among others.

The Beauty of Dance, Part Two: Sylvie Guillem

French ballet dancer Sylvie Guillem caused a sensation in her homeland when she debuted as a premiere danseuse with the Paris Opera ballet at the age of nineteen for her fluidity and grace onstage.



Her decision to perform with the Royal Ballet in Britain led to a major political controversy (only in France!) that had the National Assembly bring the nation's culture minister in to testify on the matter. Guillem has not only danced with the Royal Ballet, but she has also performed as a guest artist with the Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg and the American Ballet Theatre in New York.

You can find out more at this tribute Web page to her.

The Beauty of Dance, Part Two: Alexandra Golden, National Ballet of Canada

Alexandra Golden is a second soloist with the National Ballet of Canada, based in Toronto.



She joined the National Ballet of Canada in 1996 and was promoted to second soloist in 2007, and she's danced roles such as Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew, and the pas de trois in Voluntaries, plus several other dances.