Skylar Brandt

Skylar Paley Brandt (born January 8, 1993) is an American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the leading ballet companies in the United States.After joining the ABT Studio Company in 2009, she worked through the ranks and was appointed a soloist in August 2015.

Skylar Brandt was born and raised in Purchase, New York.Brandt began her training at the age of six, at the Scarsdale Ballet Studio under the instruction of Diana White and Christian Claessens.Brandt also studied with Susan Jaffe, Valentina Kozlova and Fabrice Herrault as part of her earlier training.

In 2004 and again in 2008, Brandt participated in the Youth America Grand Prix and was awarded a silver medal both times.The following year she began attending the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at ABT and was there for four years before joining the ABT Studio Company in 2009.While at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, Brandt was a National Training Scholar from 2006 to 2009, and in 2009 she became the recipient of the Bender Foundation scholarship.During her years of training prior to joining the American Ballet Theatre, Brandt spent five summers attending ABT’s Summer Intensives

Studio company

Following her four years at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, Skylar Brandt joined the ABT Studio Company in 2009.During her time in the Studio Company, her repertoire included Medora in Le Corsaire, and Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. Brandt also had leading roles in works by Jodie Gates, Jessica Lang, Aszure Barton and Edwaard Lang.She also performed in George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, and Jerome Robbins’ Interplay.

Main company

In November 2010, Brandt joined the main company as an apprentice and by June 2011 was in the Corps de Ballet.In August 2015, she worked her way up and was appointed a soloist in the company.Her repertoire with the main company is vast and includes roles in La Bayadere, Le Corsaire, and Don Quixote. She also had roles in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty.Along with performing pre-choreographed roles, Brandt has created roles.Roles that she has created include The Swallow in The Seasons, and The fairy canari qui chante in Ratmansky’s Sleeping Beauty.

Outside of her work with American Ballet Theatre, Skylar Brandt has performed in many international galas.She has also appeared in a television show and a film. She appeared in a film, Ballet’s Greatest Hits, and “Big Ballet”, a Russian television show. Brandt received a Special Jury Award for her performances on ”Big Ballet” in 2018.She was awarded a Princess Grace Foundation-USA Fellowship in 2013.