Stephanie Petersen

Photo: Jade Young.

Born in Newcastle, Australia, Stephanie Petersen began her training at the age of 8 at the Marie Walton-Mahon Dance Academy before relocating to Melbourne to complete her training with The Australian Ballet School. In 2005, Petersen was awarded the Gold Medal at the 10^th Asian Pacific International Ballet Competition in Tokyo before graduating from The Australian Ballet School with Honours and as Dux of her year. Upon her graduation she performed the dual role of Odette/Odile in the traditional Swan Lake.

Petersen joined The Australian Ballet in 2007 as a member of the corps de ballet and was promoted to coryphée in 2008.  During her time with The Australian Ballet her repertoire included Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain, Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun with international guest artist Cedric Ygnace, Idée Fixe in Kryzsztof Pastor’s Symphonie Fantastique, Prelude, solo and pas de deux in Les Sylphides, Cigarette solo and pas de deux in Suite en Blanc, Prayer in Coppélia, Lilac Fairy and Earth Fairy in Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty, and Nacho Duato’s Por Vos Muero.

In 2009, Petersen was a guest artist with Christopher Wheeldon’s Morphoses, performing principal roles in Commedia and Fool’s Paradise.  Later that year she worked with Wayne McGregor creating a role in his work Dyad 1929 and becoming the youngest ever winner of The Australian Telstra Ballet Dancer of the Year award, as well as the people’s choice award.

Starting in August 2011, Petersen spent six months with Het Nationale Ballet in Amsterdam before joining ABT as a member of the corps de ballet in January 2012.  Her repertoire includes the Lead D’Jampe and a Shade in La Bayadère, Fairy Summer in Cinderella, Mazurka Lady in Coppélia, Lead Gypsy in Don Quixote, Zulma in Giselle, Bertha Mason in Jane Eyre, Spanish Dance and one of the Nutcracker’s Sisters in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, Plangon in Of Love and Rage, Carnival Dancer in Othello, a Harlot and Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Fairy of Charity in The Sleeping Beauty, Fleur de farine (Wheat flower) and the Countess in Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty, pas de trois, a big swan and the Spanish Dance in Swan Lake, leading roles in The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Garden Blue, I Feel The Earth Move and With a Chance of Rain and featured roles in After You, Bach Partita, Company B, Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes, Deuce Coupe, In the Upper Room and Raymonda Divertissements.

She created Marie Antoinette in A Gathering of Ghosts, the Gold Fairy in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty, leading roles in AFTERITE and Her Notes, and featured roles in AfterEffect, New American Romance and Songs of Bukovina.

ABT is grateful to Sarah Murdoch for supporting the Dancer Fund in honor of Stephanie Petersen.