Keith Roberts

Born in Denver, Colorado, Keith Roberts trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts and the School of American Ballet.  He joined American Ballet Theatre in 1987 as a member of the corps de ballet and was promoted to Soloist in 1992. In 1997, he was promoted to the rank of Principal Dancer.

With American Ballet Theatre, he has performed in works by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Lar Lubovitch, Jiri Kylian, John Neumeier, Nacho Duato, Merce Cunningham, Ulysses Dove and Ben Stevenson.

He toured with Twyla Tharp Dance, creating original works Surfer on the River Styx, Mozart Clarinet Concerto K581 and Beethoven’s Hammerklavier, as well as performing Known By Heart “Junk Duet” and Sinatra Suite.  He also danced in PBS specials Twyla Tharp: Oppositions and American Ballet Theatre Now – Variety and Virtuosity, performing Nacho Duato’s Remanso.

In 1998, Roberts made his Broadway debut in Matthew Bourne’s production of Swan Lake as “The Swan/Stranger,” and in 2000, he took over the role of “Perc 4” in the Broadway production of Fosse.  In 2002, he created the role of “Tony” in Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out, receiving Tony Award® and Astaire Award nominations.  In 2010, he created the role of “Hank” in Tharp’s Broadway production of Come Fly Away and her Las Vegas production of Sinatra Dance With Me.

As a répétiteur, he has staged works at American Ballet Theatre, Bolshoi Ballet, Het Nationale Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, Corella Ballet Castilla y Leon, Ballet Mainz, Boston Ballet, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Orlando Ballet Theater, Ballet West and Ballet Arizona.  In 2008, Roberts was the assistant choreographer for Twyla Tharp’s work, Rabbit and Rogue at American Ballet Theatre.

Roberts became a Director of Repertoire at American Ballet Theatre in September 2012 and is an ABT Certified Teacher in Pre-Primary through Level 7 of the ABT National Training Curriculum. In addition to his duties, Roberts performs the role of the Catalabutte and Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty, Léandre in Harlequinade, Hermocrates and the King of Babylon in Of Love and Rage, the Tutor in Swan Lake and Lord Montague and the Friar in Romeo and Juliet.

In 2017, Roberts graduated from Columbia University’s School of General Studies earning his BA in Economics-Philosophy and in May 2020, earned his MBA from Columbia Business School.