ashley bouder

Ashley Bouder was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and began her ballet training at the age of six at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet with Marcia Dale Weary. After attending the 1999 Summer Program at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, she was invited by SAB to continue her training during the Winter Session. Ms. Bouder was named an apprentice with New York City Ballet in June 2000 and became a member of the corps de ballet that October. She was promoted to the rank of soloist in February 2004, and in January 2005, Ms. Bouder was promoted to principal dancer.

Ms. Bouder has danced in ballet galas around the world and guest starred in companies including the Paris Opera Ballet, Rome Opera Ballet, Bayerisches Staatsballett, and the Mariinsky Ballet. She has been awarded Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise at the School of American Ballet as a student. As a professional her awards include the Janice Levin Honoree from the New York City Ballet, the Miss Expressivity for 2011 and the Miss Virtuosity for 2013 from the Dance Open Gala, and the 2019 Benois de la Danse.

Beginning her teacher training in her teens at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB), Ms. Bouder has taught at the summer programs of the School of American Ballet (SAB), Saratoga Summer Dance Intensive (SSDI), Manhattan Youth Ballet (MYB), Carolina Ballet School, and the CPYB. She continues to be a frequent guest teacher at Ballet Academy East, MYB, and SAB, while guest teaching and holding master classes around the country, including the Boston Ballet School and Princeton University.

As an Artistic Directer and choreographer, using the arts collaborative she founded, The Ashley Bouder Project (ABP), Ms. Bouder hopes to promote other female choreographers, while also setting an example for women to be more forward and prominent in the creation and directorial sides of the arts world. Her previous work has been presented at the School of American Ballet Choreographic Workshop, the New York City Ballet in the Dancer's Choice Program, the Ashley Bouder Project at New York's Peter Norton Symphony Space, Bryant Park Presents, and the Joyce Theater. In her second residency at the Vineyard Arts Project this summer, she held the first ABP choreographic workshop to help young choreographers hone their skills.