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Molly Smolen Born in Philadelphia, Molly Smolen trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet under John White and Margarita de Saa. At 14 she joined American Ballet Theatre and from 1997 to 1999 she performed as a guest artist with the Estonian National Ballet. Molly joined BRB as a Soloist in 1999 and was promoted to Principal in 2002. Her performance of Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan brought her critical acclaim in many countries. She has shone in roles as diverse as the Siren in Prodigal Son and Maggie in Hobson's Choice. She is also a sparkling classical dancer, dancing most of the leading classical roles with the Estonian Ballet before she was 21. Molly joined San Francisco Ballet as a Principal in 2006. Repertory: with Estonian National Ballet: principal roles in Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake; with BRB: works by Ashton (Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan, The Two Pigeons Gypsy Girl, La Fille mal gardée Lise, Scènes de ballet, Dante Sonata and Voices of Spring); Balanchine (Concerto barocco - Leading Ballerina, Second Ballerina, Prodigal Son Siren, Western Symphony First Movement, Apollo Calliope); Bintley (Arthur Morgan, Beauty and the Beast Belle, Carmina burana Fortuna, The Nutcracker Sweeties Sugar Rum Cherry, The Shakespeare Suite Juliet, The Seasons 'Autumn', Hobson's Choice Maggie Hobson, The Sons of Horus Isis, Concert Fantasy, Les Petit Riens, Orpheus Suite - Eurydice); Cranko (Broulliards); MacMillan (Romeo and Juliet Juliet, Elite Syncopations - White Girl); Nijinski (Rite of Spring - The Chosen Maiden), and Myrtha, Giselle (Giselle), Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker), Swanhilda (Coppelia), Odette /Odile (Swan Lake), Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty), Powder and In the Upper Room. Awards: Bronze medal and the Prix de Nina Ricci for Artistic Excellence at the Varna International Ballet Competition; bronze medal at the Osaka International Ballet Competition, 1995; Critics' Circle nomination for Newcomer of the Year (2000). |