Summary
Aran Bell (born October 7, 1998) is an American ballet dancer. He was featured in the 2011 documentary First Position, and became a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre at age 21.
Aran Bell | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 7, 1998 |
| Occupation | Ballet dancer |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Career | |
| Current group | American Ballet Theatre |
Early life and training edit
Bell was born on October 7, 1998, in Bethesda, Maryland.[1][2] As his father was a U.S. Navy doctor, Bell was homeschooled and lived in different parts of the country and in Naples, Italy.[3] Bell, who started ballet at age 4, trained at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet for three years as well as with private teachers.[4][3] He studied a variety of styles including the Vaganova method and Balanchine technique.[3] During the four and a half years Bell's father was stationed in Naples, Bell and his mother travelled to Rome six times a week to train with Denys Ganio, who had danced with Roland Petit's company.[3] He also studied under Fabrice Herrault in New York City, and was enrolled in American Ballet Theatre's summer intensive for several years.[4]
At age 11, Bell competed at the Youth America Grand Prix, where he won the overall prize in the junior division.[1][5] He was one of six competitors profiled in the 2011 documentary First Position.[5][1]
Career edit
In 2014, at age 16, Bell joined the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, and stayed for a second year as a result of a growth spurt. He became an apprentice with the main company in 2016 and joined the corps de ballet the following year.[6][7] In 2018, at age 19, Bell danced Romeo in Romeo and Juliet with principal dancer Devon Teuscher as Juliet, when the dancer scheduled to dance the role was injured.[7] The New York Times called his performance "an astonishingly impressive debut."[8] The following year, he represented ABT at the Erik Bruhn Prize with colleague Catherine Hurlin,[9] made his debut as Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake and Prince Désiré in The Sleeping Beauty, and was promoted to soloist.[6] In 2020, though some of his major debuts were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Bell was promoted to principal dancer at age 21, which was unusually young.[10]
References edit
- ^ a b c "Aran Bell". Dance Magazine. November 15, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ^ "Aran Bell". American Ballet Theatre. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Harss, Marina (December 21, 2019). "American Ballet Theatre's Catherine Hurlin and Aran Bell Are on the Fast Track Towards Stardom". Pointe Magazine.
- ^ a b "The Boys of Ballet: Meet 8 Up-and-Coming Danseurs". Dance Magazine. March 1, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ a b Dargis, Manohla (May 3, 2012). "Tracking Ballet's Pull on Youth Worldwide". New York Times.
- ^ a b Lansky, Chava (July 5, 2019). "ABT's Aran Bell and Joo Won Ahn Have Been Promoted to Soloist". Pointe Magazine.
- ^ a b Kourlas, Gia (June 11, 2018). "A Corps Dancer Leaps Into His Romeo Debut". New York Times.
- ^ Macaulay, Alastair (June 15, 2018). "4 Buzzy 'Romeo and Juliet' Debuts, 1 Fainthearted Production". New York Times.
- ^ Lansky, Chava (March 25, 2019). "Congrats to 2019 Erik Bruhn Prize Winners Siphesihle November and Catherine Hurlin". Pointe Magazine.
- ^ Jacobs, Julia (September 10, 2020). "American Ballet Theater Promotes Dancers Despite Pandemic Slump". New York Times.