Catherine Hurlin

Catherine Hurlin (born 1995 or 1996)^[1] is an American ballet dancer. She joined the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) in 2014 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2022.

Early life[edit]

Hurlin was born in New York City and raised in Westchester County, New York.^[2][3] Her mother, was a Paul Taylor Dance Company dancer and left the company when she was 14 weeks pregnant with Hurlin.^[4] Her father was a stage manager with the company and later Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS's production manager. Hurlin started creative movement at age three, then ballet at age five. When she was eight, her mother sent her to Westchester Dance Academy, a competitive dance school, where Hurlin trained in jazz and lyrical dance in addition to ballet, and performed around the East Coast on weekends.^[1] At age 11, she competed at the Youth America Grand Prix, and won a scholarship to the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School (JKO School).^[5] At the time, she preferred lyrical dance and later recalled her mother "dragged" her to the school, though gradually found herself enjoying ballet and decided to pursue it professionally.^[1]

Career[edit]

Between age eleven and thirteen, Hurlin performed in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular as Clara.^[6] In 2010, whilst she was a student with the JKO School, she created the role of Young Clara in Alexei Ratmansky's The Nutcracker, which was performed by the American Ballet Theatre.^[7]

Hurlin first danced with the American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company, then became an apprentice with the main company in 2013, and a corps de ballet member in 2014.^[2] In 2015, she danced Taylor's Company B, which had been created when her mother was in his company.^[4] Whilst in the corps de ballet, she also created a role in Morris' After You, and the role of Mademoiselle Marianne Chartreuse in Ratmansky's Whipped Cream.^[2] She also performed solo roles in The Sleeping Beauty,^[8] La Bayadère, Le Corsaire, Don Quixote, Giselle, Swan Lake, Ratmansky's The Firebird and MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet.^[2]

Hurlin was promoted to soloist in 2018.^[9] The following year, she represented ABT at the Erik Bruhn Prize with colleague Aran Bell. The pair performed a pas de deux from Don Quixote and Let Me Sing Forevermore, which was created for them by Jessica Lang. Hurlin won the female category.^[10] Since her promotion, she created several roles, including Hail in Ratmansky's The Seasons,^[1] Greased Lighting in Tharp's A Gathering of Ghosts^[11] and in Whiteside's New American Romance.^[12] She had also appeared as Young Jane Eyre in Marston's Jane Eyre,^[1] in Lang's Garden Blue,^[5] Tharp's In the Upper Room and Deuce Coupe.^[1]

In March 2020, Hurlin originated the role of Callirhoe in Ratmansky's full-length ballet Of Love and Rage in Costa Mesa, California.^[13] However, ABT's spring season, which included the New York premiere and some of Hurlin's major debuts, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[14] During the pandemic, she and Bell, who were quarantining together, performed Let Me Sing Forevermore at Central Park, filmed for ABT's virtual gala in May 2020.^[15] In March 2021, Hurlin performed the world premiere of Ratmansky's Bernstein in a Bubble, created while a group of ABT dancers were in a bubble in Upstate New York earlier that year.^[16] In the summer, she took part in the company's eight-city tour, performing outdoors and mainly with members of the corps de ballet.^[17]

In 2022, at the company's first season at the Metropolitan Opera House since the pandemic, Hurlin danced as Kitri in Don Quixote, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, and Callirhoe in the New York premiere of Of Love and Rage.^[18][19][20] Towards the end of the season, she was promoted to principal dancer.^[21]

Repertoire[edit]

Hurlin's repertoire with the American Ballet Theatre includes:^[22]

Created roles[edit]

References[edit]