Debra Austin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1955-07-25)July 25, 1955 (age 70) United States |
| Education | Professional Children's School School of American Ballet |
| Occupations | Ballet dancer,Ballet master |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Career | |
| Former groups | New York City Ballet Zurich Ballet Pennsylvania Ballet |
Debra Austin (born July 25, 1955) is an American ballet dancer who rose to prominence in 1982 when she was promoted to the rank of principal dancer atPennsylvania Ballet, making her the firstAfrican-American female principal dancer of a major American ballet company. She was also the first African-American female dancer at theNew York City Ballet. She currently serves as theballet mistress for theCarolina Ballet.
Debra Austin began dancing when she was eight years old. At the age of twelve, she was awarded a scholarship to dance at theSchool of American Ballet inNew York City. While a dance student at the School of American Ballet, she attended theProfessional Children's School for academics. She was handpicked byGeorge Balanchine at age sixteen to join theNew York City Ballet, officially becoming the company's first African-American female dancer at age sixteen.[1][2] Austin appeared in performances that were televised for thePBS seriesLive from Lincoln Center and theNBC television specialLive From Studio H.[3][4] She later left the New York City Ballet to dance for theZurich Ballet inSwitzerland, where she was promoted to soloist.
After returning to the United States in 1982, she was hired by her former fellow dancer at New York City Ballet,Robert Weiss, then the artistic director of the Pennsylvania Ballet, to be a principal dancer for the company,[5][6] making her the first African-American woman to reach the rank of principal dancer in a major American ballet company.[7][8][9] This was eight years beforeLauren Anderson became a principal dancer for theHouston Ballet, even though she is commonly incorrectly accredited as being the first.[Note 1] At the Pennsylvania Ballet, Austin danced inSwan Lake,Coppélia,A Midsummer Night's Dream,Apollo,Symphony in C,Giselle, andLa Sylphide.[11] She danced at a Gala Performance at theAcademy of Music, hosted byBill Cosby, while accompanied byGrover Washington on the saxophone.
Austin assistedLynne Taylor-Corbett in her balletThe Dancing Princesses forMiami City Ballet, which premiered at theJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on April 25, 1995. She served as a preliminary judge for theNational Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts.[3]
Austin retired from dancing in 1990. She has taught ballet at the American Cultural Center, Palm Beach Dance Center, the Miami City Ballet School, and Cary Ballet Conservatory.[4] When theCarolina Ballet was founded by Weiss in 1997, Austin was hired as a ballet master for the company.
Austin married Romanian ballet dancer Marin Boieru in 1992, whom she met while they were both performing with Pennsylvania Ballet.[12][13] She and her husband both work as ballet masters for the Carolina Ballet. They have two daughters, Olivia and Bianca.[4]