Diana White

Diana White took her first ballet classes at the age of four in Park Ridge, Illinois, and at the age of ten performed as an extra in George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, during a visit by New York City Ballet to Chicago. This experience inspired her to devote a lifelong career first to studying and learning Balanchine’s masterpieces, and then to performing them and staging them.

When she was fourteen, White became the youngest member of the ballet company of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, directed by Maria Tallchief (Balanchine’s third wife). Balanchine saw White there, offered her a scholarship to his School of American Ballet and then took her into his New York City Ballet, where she rose to the rank of soloist. During her twenty-year career, she danced principal, soloist and corps de ballet roles in over fifty ballets by Balanchine and twenty by Jerome Robbins, rehearsing with the choreographers in person.

Since 2005, White has been working for The George Balanchine Trust. She also works for the Jerome Robbins Foundation. She has staged ballets by both master choreographers for companies and schools on all six continents.

Last update: 06-02-2025