SARA WEBB, PRINCIPAL Birthplace Dallas, Texas Dance Training Academy of Nevada Dance Theater The Harid Conservatory Houston Ballet's Ben Stevenson Academy Joined the Company 1997 Promoted to Principal 2003 Favorite Role The title roles in Ben Stevenson's Cinderella and Glen Tetley's Voluntaries Review "A ballerina who dances from the soul, bleeding musicality, technical virtuosity, speed, fearlessness and spunk through her gracefully arched feet and liquid arms.  Her lightness of being is so palpable, she seems to float even when she's standing; and when a partner lifts her, you almost wonder if she's attached to flying wires."  - Molly Glenzter (Houston Chronicle review of Romeo and Juliet, featuring Ms. Webb as Juliet) One defining moment... Being coached by Glen Tetley for Voluntaries was truly inspiring. Sara Webb received her early training at the Academy of Nevada Dance Theatre and at the Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida, from which she graduated in 1996. Ms. Webb was invited to join Houston Ballet in 1997.  She was promoted to principal in 2003.  She has performed the lead roles in a number of Ben Stevenson's classical productions, including Aurora and Blue Bird in The Sleeping Beauty, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Kitri in Don Quixote, Swanilda in Coppélia, Alice and Tiger Lily in Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella in Cinderella, Svetlana in Dracula, the pas de deux from Esmeralda, and both Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker. Equally familiar with the work of other classical choreographers, she has also been featured in the lead roles in Sir Frederick Ashton's La Fille Mal Gardée; Johnny Eliasen's staging of La Sylphide; Stanton Welch's Swan Lake and Madame Butterfly; Sir Kenneth MacMillan's Manon; Maina Gielgud's staging of Giselle; and James Kudelka's The Firebird. Trey McIntyre created and set on Ms. Webb the role of Wendy in his Peter Pan (2002) and the role of Thumbelina in The Shadow (2003). In addition to her classical work, Ms. Webb has performed feature roles in a number of Houston Ballet's repertory works, including Stanton Welch's TuTu, Nosotros, Divergence, Maninyas, A Dance in the Garden of Mirth, Indigo, Velocity and Bruiser; Mr. Stevenson's Four Last Songs and Five Poems; Christopher Bruce's Ghost Dances, Sergeant Early's Dream, Rooster and the world premiere of Hush; Glen Tetley's Voluntaries (Central Couple); Trey McIntyre's Second Before the Ground; Serge Lifar's Suite en Blanc; Harald Lander's Etudes; Jiri Kylian's Forgotten Land; Sir Kenneth McMillan's Gloria (Pas de Quatre); George Balanchine's Theme and Variations, Apollo, Western Symphony, The Four Temperaments (the Sanguinic couple) and Serenade (Russian Girl and Waltz Girl); Sir Frederick Ashton's Les Patineurs; Nacho Duato's Without Words; William Forsythe's In the middle, somewhat elevated; Lila York's Rules of the Game; Natalie Weir's Steppenwolf and The Host; Julia Adam's The Accidental; and Mark Morris's Sandpaper Ballet.  Ms. Webb was a finalist at the 2002 International Ballet Competition, performing Mr. Stevenson's Twilight, which he choreographed and set on Ms. Webb and Ian Casady for the competition, and they performed in its world premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 2002. Ms. Webb was honored to perform two Stevenson works - Twilight and the Esmeralda pas de deux - at the June 2003 gala honoring Mr. Stevenson on the occasion of his retirement as artistic director of Houston Ballet.  Ms. Webb is married to Ryan Bardo.  Their son, Joshua Keith, was born last fall.      Headshot by: Busath Photography Photo: Drew Donovan