Janie Taylor

Janie Taylor (born ) is an American ballet dancer, répétiteur and costume designer. She joined New York City Ballet in 1998, was promoted to principal dancer in 2005 and left in 2014. She then started designing costumes and staging works by Justin Peck and Benjamin Millepied, before performing again as a member of the L.A. Dance Project. Early life and training Taylor was born in Houston, and started ballet at age 2. She moved to New Orleans with her family when she was 12. In 1995, Taylor entered the School of American Ballet in New York, and dance lead roles at the school annual workshop during her last two years of training, before graduating in 1998. She received the Mae L. Wien Award the same year. Dance career In 1998, Taylor became an apprentice with the New York City Ballet, and was taken to the corps de ballet a month later. The following year, at age 18, she danced the principal role in George Balanchine's La Valse. She was promoted to soloist in 2001 and principal dancer in 2005. She had dance lead roles by Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, and had created roles for Benjamin Millepied and Justin Peck. In March 2014, at age 33, Taylor and Sébastien Marcovici, her husband and a fellow principal dancer, both departed New York City Ballet following a performance of La Valse and Robbins' Afternoon of a Faun. The program was not chosen by them though the two believed it was suitable for their farewell. She had stated she decided to leave because Marcovici was retiring from performing and the two agreed that it would be best for both of them.