History & Bio
Yvonne Borree’s interest in dance developed very early, due in large part to the influence of her ballerina mother, Susan Borree, who danced with Jerome Robbins’ Ballet: U.S.A., New York City Ballet, and American Ballet Theater.
Yvonne grew up in Norfolk, Virginia, where she began her dance training at the Tidewater Ballet Association when she was five years old. She attended summer sessions at the School of American Ballet for three years and was invited to enter SAB full-time in 1985.
In 1987, she became an apprentice with the New York City Ballet and was invited to join the corps de ballet in 1988. She was promoted to the rank of soloist in 1993 and principal in 1997. She danced her farewell performance with the New York City Ballet on June 6, 2010. Yvonne became part of the faculty of School of American Ballet from 2008 to 2015. She was one of the 30 New York City Ballet former or current principal ballerinas to receive the Jerome Robbins Award in 2011. She was a recipient of the Mae L. Wien ( Faculty Award ) in 2015.
In 2016, she relocated to Hawaii with her husband Yogi Charu to teach for various ballet studios in Honolulu until 2018.
Career & Accolades
Performed featured roles in numerous ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins during her 22-year career with the New York City Ballet. Among them are Balanchine’s Apollo, A Midsummer Night’s dream, Coppélia (Swanilda), Concerto Barocco, Brahms- Schoenberg Quartet (Third Movement), Donizetti Variations, Duo Concertant, Divertimento No.15, Harlequinade, Raymonda Variations, La Sonnambula, The Four Temperaments, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy and Dew Drop), Serenade, Square Dance, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Symphony in C, Symphony in Three Movements, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Union Jack, Jewels (Rubies), Vienna Waltzes, Valse Fantaisie, and Western Symphony; Jerome Robbins’ The Concert, Dances at a Gathering, The Four Seasons, The Goldberg Variations, In the Night, Interplay, Andantino and Mother Goose; and Peter Martins’ Mozart Serenade, Symphonic Dances, Zakouski, The Sleeping Beauty (Princess Aurora), Swan Lake; and Sean Lavery’s Romeo and Juliet (Balcony Pas de Deux).
Chosen by Ballet Master Chief Peter Martins to dance with guest artist Mikhail Baryshnikov in George Balanchine’s Duo Concertant.
Originated roles in Mr. Martins’ Ash, The Chairman Dances, Delight of the Muses, Fearful Symmetries, Jazz (Six Syncopated Movements), Quartet for Strings, Sinfonia, The Sleeping Beauty (The White Cat), Papillons, Stabat Mater, Them Twos, Thou Swell. Featured roles were also created for Ms. Borree by Robbert LaFosse (Dances de Cour), Miriam Mahdaviani (Correlazone), and Christopher Wheeldon (Carnival of the Animals).
Appeared on TV in Dance in America and Live from Lincoln Center
