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, Madame Butterfly and Marie; 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). The role of Nikiya was created on Ms. Webb in Stanton Welch's 2010 staging of La Bayadère.

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; Antony Tudor's The Leaves are Fading (fourth movement); 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 and Falling Angels; Sir Kenneth McMillan's Gloria (Pas de Quatre); George Balanchine's Theme and Variations, Apollo (Terpsichore), Western Symphony, The Four Temperaments (the Sanguinic couple), Serenade (Russian Girl and Waltz Girl) and Symphony in C (first movement); Sir Frederick Ashton's Les Patineurs; Nacho Duato's Without Words; Christopher Wheeldon's Carousel; 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 honored to perform Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux at the 2008 Fall For Dance Festival at City Center in New York as well as at Houston Ballet's Jubilee of Dance the same year. She 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. In fall of 2008, Ms. Webb made guest performances at Ballet West, performing the role of Miranda in Michael Smuin's The Tempest and Ben Stevenson's Three Preludes in their annual gala.  Ms. Webb returned to Ballet West in the fall of 2009 and performed Ashton's The Dream. She had the wonderful opportunity to work with Sir Anthony Dowell on the role of Titania. She also performed Flames of Paris pas de deux in Ballet West's annual gala. 

Sara Webb is married to Ryan Bardo.  Their son, Joshua Keith, was born in November 2007, and they are expecting their second child in October 2010. 

Houston Ballet's Sara Webb

 Resource Links Below

Press:
Celebrating 10 Years of Pointe Magazine – Pointe Magazine

Pregnant ballerina makes a pointe about good health – Houston Chronicle

Houston Ballet Principal Sara Webb Calls Cypress Home – CyFair Magazine

Dancing from a new perspective – En Pointe Blog

Videos:
Stanton Welch's La Bayadère

Christopher Wheeldon's Carousel (A Dance)

Antony Tudor's The Leaves are Fading

Interviews:
Sara Webb and Joseph Walsh talk about their roles in Sir Kenneth MacMillan's Manon on The Front Row (KUHF 88.7)

Sara Webb and Connor Walsh talk about dancing Ben Stevenson’s Don Quixote on The Front Row (KUHF 88.7)

Sara Webb and American Ballet Theatre star Marcelo Gomes talk about Ben Stevenson’s The Nutcracker on The Front Row (KUHF 88.7)

  Headshot by: Busath Photography

Photo: Drew Donovan