January 8, 2010
MARIA BYSTROVA NAMED
JENNIFER ALEXANDER DANCER FOR 2010
Maria Bystrova, a member of American Ballet Theatre’s corps de ballet, has been named the third annual Jennifer Alexander Dancer, it was announced today by ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.
In 2008, The Jennifer Alexander Memorial Fund was formed to honor the late Jennifer Alexander, a beloved member of ABT’s corps de ballet. Gifts to the Fund are used to support the Jennifer Alexander Dancer, recognizing a senior female dancer in the corps de ballet who best represents the professionalism, perseverance and generosity that Jennifer herself embodied.
Bystrova joined ABT’s Studio Company (now ABT II) in August 1999, and joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in August 2000. Her roles with the Company include an Odalisque in Le Corsaire, Bathilde and Berthe in Giselle, the Eldest Sister in Pillar of Fire, the Lead Hungarian Dancer in Raymonda, Rosaline and Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Carabosse, the Countess and the Fairy of Sincerity in The Sleeping Beauty, the Queen Mother in Swan Lake, Anna in La Sylphide, Diana in Sylvia and roles in Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes and Everything Doesn’t Happen at Once.
Contributions to The Jennifer Alexander Memorial Fund can be made to:
Ballet Theatre Foundation, 890 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10003.