Maria Kowroski

Interview, Oct, 2000 by Jock Soto

THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY JUST GOT ITS FIRST BALLET LEGEND

The great choreographer George Balanchine once said, "Ballet is woman." At twenty-four, Maria Kowroski, the New York City Ballet's youngest principal ballerina--one of the tallest ever, standing 6' en pointe--proves his point. With exceptional grace and an unexpectedly curvy figure, she dazzles audiences as she dances the jewels of the Balanchine repertoire. It's been a long time since we've seen a dancer who looks or moves quite like this. Once she starts moving those extraordinarily long legs, it feels like she's never going to stop.

Kowroski began dancing at the age of seven, and she studied at the NYCB's School of American Ballet. But the Grand Rapids, Michigan, native's big break came just two years after she joined the company, when she was called in to rehearse for a role in Prodigal Son. "I had no idea it was for the lead," she recalls. "But then the ballet master said, 'You're it, babe,' and there was no looking back." It was only after an injury sidelined her for nearly four months that she got serious about her future. She was named a principal in early 1999 and promptly conquered NYCB Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins's production of Swan Lake. Now, with all eyes on Kowroski, she is finally adjusting to the spotlight. "I like the feeling of being whoever or whatever I want to be onstage. It makes me feel untouchable."

Jock Soto is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet.