Amy Aldridge headshot
Faculty

Amy Aldridge is an adjunct associate professor in UArts’ School of Dance.

Biography

Amy Aldridge was born in Richmond, Virginia, and began her dance training at the School of the Richmond Ballet. She also spent her summers studying at the School of American Ballet and the Boston Ballet School. Aldridge is a graduate of the University of the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, where she received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence.

Aldridge joined the Pennsylvania Ballet in 1994 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2001. She performed principal roles in numerous works, including The Taming of the Shrew, Cinderella, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, La Fille mal gardée, Alexei Ratmansky’s Jeu de Cartes and Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort. Aldridge has always had a passion for the Balanchine ballets and has danced principal roles in The Nutcracker, Square Dance, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, Ballo della Regina, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Rubies from Jewels, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Allegro Brillante and Theme and Variations

Aldridge has had the privilege of working with many renowned choreographers over the years, including Peter Martins, Arthur Mitchell, Christopher Wheeldon, William Forsythe, Liam Scarlett, and Twyla Tharp and has created original roles in ballets for Dwight Rhoden, Trey McIntyre, Matthew Neenan, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, David Dawson, Alonzo King and Jorma Elo.

She has appeared internationally as part of the Sintra Festival, Portugal; the Northwest Phalen Tanz Festival, Germany (with choreographer Kevin O’Day); and the Stars of New York Ballet in London. In May 2004, she performed as a guest artist with New York City Ballet, dancing Tarantella as part of the George Balanchine Centennial Celebrations. She has also appeared with BalletX in Matthew Neenan’s Broke Apart, Jorma Elo’s Scenes View 2, and at Jacob’s Pillow, Becket, Massachusetts, in summer 2006.

In May 2017, Aldridge retired from the Pennsylvania Ballet with George Balanchine’s Tarantella and Rubies pas de deux. After 23 years on the stage, she was presented with a city citation from Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and returned to the Pennsylvania Ballet, now Philadelphia Ballet, to coach the Balanchine repertoire. In addition to teaching and studying at UArts, she is a faculty member at Philadelphia Dance Academy.

Experience

  • UArts Dance MFA candidate, 2023

Awards & Accolades

  • Amy Aldridge was honored with a 2017 Philadelphia city citation, presented by Mayor Jim Kenney, for 23 years with the Pennsylvania Ballet.