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 ballet student or dancer. Ballerina was once a rank given only to the most exceptional female soloists. More or less, depending on the source, the rankings for women—from highest to lowest—used to be: For men, the ranks were: Ballet companies continue to rank their dancers in hierarchical fashion, although most have adopted a gender neutral classification system, and very few recognise a single leading dancer above all other company members. In most large companies, there are usually several leading dancers of each gender, titled principal dancer or "" to reflect their seniority, and more often, their status within the company.