Julie Kent (dancer) Ballet Theatre II summer school and the School of American Ballet. She took the stage name Julie Kent at the suggestion of Mikhail Baryshnikov. Kent joined American Ballet Theatre as an apprentice in 1985, became a member of the company's corps de ballet in 1986, was promoted to soloist in 1990, and to principal dancer in 1993. She is known as a skilled dramatic dancer. She was often partnered with ABT Principal Ethan Stiefel, even co-starring with him in the film Center Stage. Her roles with the Company include the Girl in "Afternoon of a Faun", the title role in
Ballet dancer English, it does not enjoy the same connotation as "ballerina". A regular male dancer in Italy is called a "danzatore", while ballerino usually denotes a principal male ballet dancer in Italy. In the English speaking world, boys or men who dance classical ballet are usually referred to as (male) ballet dancers. Often "ballerino" is used in English-based countries as slang. As late as the 1950s a ballerina was the principal female dancer of a ballet company who was also very accomplished in the international world of ballet, especially beyond her own company; female dancers who danced ballet were then called