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
Vladimir Vasiliev (dancer) Club of the Bolshoi Friends. At the end of the 1990s, he was one of the first ballet directors who recognized the class and the outstanding qualities of Svetlana Zakharova, then principal dancer with the Mariinsky ballet. Svetlana Zakharova became a principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet in October 2003. Vladimir Vasiliev was dismissed as director of the Bolshoi Theater August 28, 2000. Vasiliev learned about his dismissal from hearing it on the radio. Since his exit from the Bolshoi, Vasiliev premiered in the ballet production "Lungo Viaggio Nella Notte di Natale", set to Tchaikovsky's music, in Opera di Roma,