New York Metropolis Ballet (NYCB)’s Gilbert Bolden III has been promoted to Principal Dancer. The promotion was made on February 28, by NYCB Inventive Director Jonathan Stafford and Affiliate Inventive Director Wendy Whelan.
In the course of the Firm’s 2025 Winter Season, Bolden debuted in main roles in George Balanchine’s Scotch Symphony, Jerome Robbins’ The Cage, Balanchine and Robbins’ Firebird, Peter Martins’ Swan Lake (Hungarian), and created a featured position on the earth premiere of Justin Peck’s Mystic Acquainted. As well as, Bolden has reprised roles in Balanchine’s Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (Second Motion) and Concerto Barocco, in addition to Robbins’ Within the Night time.
Bolden was born in San Diego, California and started dancing on the age of 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He continued his dance coaching on the Idyllwild Arts Academy in Idyllwild, CA and The Rock College for Dance Training in Philadelphia, PA. In 2014, Bolden enrolled on the College of American Ballet, the official college of NYCB. He grew to become an apprentice with the Firm in August 2017, joined the Firm as a member of the corps de ballet in August 2018, and was promoted to Soloist in October 2023. Whereas nonetheless an apprentice with NYCB, Bolden carried out a featured position in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Mom Ginger) and originated a featured position in Gianna Reisen’s Composer’s Vacation.
Since becoming a member of NYCB, he has carried out featured roles in a spread of different works by Balanchine, Albert Evans, Martins, Justin Peck, Tiler Peck, Alysa Pires, Alexei Ratmansky, Robbins and Pam Tanowitz, amongst others. He has additionally originated featured roles in work by Silas Farley, Amy Corridor Garner, Justin Peck and Caili Quan, amongst others.
