Opening Night

Sara Mearns

SARA MEARNS, Columbia, SC, principal dancer New York City Ballet since 2008. Originated roles with choreographers Justin Peck, Kyle Abraham, Alexei Ratmansky, Pam Tanowitz, Bobbi Jene Smith, Christopher Wheeldon, Guillaume Cote, Beth Gill, among others. Guest Performer: Paul Taylor Dance Company, The Cunningham Centennial Celebration, Jodi Melnick Dance, Bill T Jones/Lee Ming Wei, and Wang Ramirez. At NYCC, she starred in Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes, Encores! I Married An Angel, and Twyla Now as well as multiple Fall for Dances, and performed Dances of Isadora Duncan at Lincoln Center. At The Joyce in 2022, Sara performed a full evening with five world premier pieces, titled “A piece of Work”, awarded the Bessie Award for outstanding performer in 2018, awarded the Dance Magazine Award in 2019, and an Honorary Doctorate University of South Carolina in 2019. 

Mira Nadon

MIRA NADON was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and began her ballet training at the age of six at the Inland Pacific Ballet Academy in Montclair, California. She attended summer courses at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of NYCB, in 2014 and 2015, before entering SAB full-time for the 2015 winter term. In November 2017, Ms. Nadon became an apprentice with NYCB and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in November 2018. Ms. Nadon was promoted to the rank of soloist in January 2022, and to principal in February 2023. Nadon has performed featured roles in ballets by Kyle Abraham, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Sidra Bell, Ulysses Dove, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Peter Martins, Justin Peck, Tiler Peck, Alysa Pires, Alexei Ratmansky, Pam Tanowitz, and Christopher Wheeldon. Her awards include the 2021 Clive Barnes Award in Dance, the 2022 Princess Grace Award, and the 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

Herman Cornejo

Herman Cornejo is a Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre. Born in Argentina, he joined ABT Studio Company in 1998, the main company in 1999, and was promoted to Principal in 2003. He has performed more than 140 works spanning the classical canon and contemporary repertoire by over 70 choreographers. He has originated nearly 40 roles in world premieres by Alexei Ratmansky, Justin Peck, Twyla Tharp, Wayne McGregor, Mark Morris, Mauro Bigonzetti, Russell Maliphant, and Benjamin Millepied, and has performed in 35 countries. His honors include the Gold Medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition, the Benois de la Danse, a Bessie Award, the Platinum Konex Award, and the Dance Magazine Award. He has also been named a UNESCO Peace Messenger. Cornejo is also a choreographer, director, and coach with ABT, and holds an Arts Leadership Certificate from New York University.

Adji Cissoko

Adji Cissoko was born and grew up in Munich, Germany, where she trained at the Ballet Academy Munich and graduated with a diploma in dance. Cissoko attended the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre in New York City on full scholarship before joining the National Ballet of Canada in 2010. In 2012, she was awarded the Patron Award of Merit by the Patrons’ Council Committee of The National Ballet of Canada. Cissoko joined LINES Ballet in 2014 and was named Associate Artistic Director in 2026. Since then, she’s originated many central roles and guested for galas worldwide. Cissoko has given multiple master classes and taught classes around the world as part of the company’s outreach program. In 2020, she became certified in health/life coaching and ABT’s National Training Curriculum. Cissoko choreographed her first piece, “AZIZ,” for Ballet X in 2021. She is also a 2022 recipient of the Toulmin Fellowship and was the Artist-in-Residence for Vail Dance Festival in 2023.

Unity Phelan

Unity Phelan was born in Princeton, New Jersey where she studied at the Princeton Ballet School. After attending summer courses at the School of American Ballet, Phelan was invited to attend the school full time and remained at the school for three years. Phelan was invited to join the New York City Ballet in the winter of 2012 as an apprentice and joined the company as a Corps de Ballet member in 2013. In the Winter of 2017, Phelan was promoted to Soloist dancer and in the Fall of 2021, she was promoted to Principal dancer. In her time at New York City Ballet, Phelan has danced numerous ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Alexei Ratmansky, Justin Peck, Christopher Wheeldon and other choreographers. Phelan has been featured in Dance Magazine, Elle Magazine, and People Style Magazine. In the last couple years, Phelan has been found on the silver screen acting in “John Wick 3: Parabellum” and “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”. In 2019, Phelan was awarded the Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award for her work at New York City Ballet.

Chun Wai Chan

Chun Wai Chan is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, where he became the company’s first Chinese principal dancer since its founding in 1948. Chan is also the founder of Chunner Studio, a creative platform dedicated to artistic production, education, and cross-cultural collaboration through dance and the arts.

Before joining New York City Ballet in 2021, Chan spent nearly a decade with the Houston Ballet, where he rose from the corps de ballet to principal dancer in 2017. Born in Guangdong, China, Chan trained at the Guangzhou Art School before becoming a finalist at the Prix de Lausanne in 2010, where he received nine offers from leading ballet companies and schools and accepted a full scholarship to study at Houston Ballet Academy. In 2020, he also gained national acclaim as a finalist on “Dance Smash” one of China’s most popular television shows.

Chan has performed internationally across the United States, Europe, and Asia, appearing at major theaters and festivals worldwide. He was named to Forbes China “30 Under 30,” featured on the cover of Dance Magazine, and is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute and the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Lloyd Knight

LLOYD KNIGHT joined the Company in 2005 and performs the major male roles of the Graham repertory including in Appalachian Spring, Embattled Garden, Night Journey and many others. Dance Magazine named him one of the “Top 25 Dancers to Watch” in 2010 and one of the best performers of 2015. Mr. Knight has starred with ballet greats Wendy Whelan and Misty Copeland in signature Graham duets and has had roles created for him by such renowned artists as Nacho Duato and Pam Tanowitz. He is currently a principal guest artist for The Royal Ballet of Flanders directed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.  Born in England and raised in Miami, he trained at Miami Conservatory of Ballet and New World School of the Arts.

Indiana Woodward

Indiana Woodward is a New York City Ballet Principal. Born in Paris, France, Woodward began her dance training at age 10 at the Yuri Grigoriev School of Ballet and came to the School of American Ballet in 2010. Named an NYCB apprentice in 2012, she joined the NYCB corps de ballet that year and was promoted to Soloist in 2017. Her repertory includes leading roles in works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Robert Binet, August Bournonville, William Forsythe, Edwaard Liang, Lauren Lovette, Peter Martins, Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, Gianna Reisen, Pam Tanowitz, Peter Walker, and Christopher Wheeldon.

Robbie Fairchild

ROBBIE FAIRCHILD made his Tony nominated Broadway debut in 2015 as Jerry Mulligan in the Tony Award-winning musical An American in Paris, which he reprised in London’s West End in 2017. He was awarded the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Theater World, National Dance and Astaire Award for this performance and was nominated for the Evening Standard and Drama League Awards. From 2009 to 2017, Fairchild performed as a Principal Dancer with the New York City Ballet. His other theater credits include Monster in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein (Signature Theater, Chita Rivera Award), Harry Beaton in Brigadoon (New York City Center), Will Parker in Oklahoma! (Royal Albert Hall, London), Mike Costa in A Chorus Line(Hollywood Bowl), and Bill Calhoun in Kiss Me Kate (Roundabout Theater Company’s 2017 Gala). Television: Étoile (Prime Video), Soundtrack (Netflix), Mixtape (FOX Pilot), Julie’s Greenroom (Netflix), Oklahoma! (BBC Proms), Romeo in Romeo and Juliet and Carousel Boy in NY Philharmonic’s Carousel (PBS’s Live from Lincoln Center), Dancing With The Stars, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Live with Kelly and Michael, CBS Sunday Morning, and 60 Minutes. Film: Tom Hooper’s Cats, An American in Paris Live (West End Production), The Chaperone and NY Export: Opus Jazz. Represented by CAA. @robbiefairchild

Lauren Lovette

Lauren Lovette personifies the intertwining of dance and choreography, moving seamlessly from one to the other. Her work has been commissioned and performed by leading dance companies and festivals, including the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, the Vail International Dance Festival, American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Juilliard, Oregon Ballet Theater, Colorado Ballet, as well as a self-produced evening entirely of her own work in which she also danced, Why It Matters.

Born in Thousand Oaks, California, Lovette began studying ballet at the age of 11 at the Cary Ballet Conservatory in Cary, North Carolina. She enrolled at SAB as a full time student in 2006. In October 2009, Ms. Lovette became an apprentice with NYCB and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in September 2010. Promoted to soloist in February 2013 and to principal dancer in June 2015, she stepped down from her position at the company in 2021 in order to embark on a career devoted to dance and choreography in more equal measure. She is now the choreographer in residence at the Paul Taylor Dance Company and performs as a guest principal dancer around the world.

Ms. Lovette received the Clive Barnes Award for dance in December 2012 and was the 2012-2013 recipient of the Janice Levin Award.