Allegra Kent taking ballet. After graduating, she joined the New York City Ballet in 1953 at the age of 15, and was promoted to principal in 1957. Many roles in George Balanchine's ballets were created for her, including "Seven Deadly Sins", "Ivesiana" and "Bugaku". She danced the role of Dewdrop in the 1958 Playhouse 90 telecast of Balanchine's version of "The Nutcracker". She performed in such ballets as "Serenade", "Agon" and "Dances at a Gathering". She retired in 1981, becoming a ballet teacher, and in 1997 published an autobiography, "Once a Dancer". In 2012, Kent published her first book for children, "Ballerina
Allegra Kent Swan", with Holiday House Books for Young People, illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Emily Arnold McCully. It has received good reviews from "The New York Times","Kirkus Reviews", and "School Library Journal". She eventually had plastic surgery on her nose and chin at the insistence of her mother in an attempt to make her look "less Jewish". The operation was botched and Kent fell into a deep depression because of it. Balanchine dropped several roles for her because of it. In 2013, "Ballerina Swan" was adapted for the stage as a dance piece by New York City Children's Theater, featuring choreographer Michael