Isabella LaFreniere is a principal ballerina with New York City Ballet (NYCB). Born in Lambertville, Michigan, Isabella began her dance training at Toledo Ballet and the Northeast Academy of Dance. At age 11, she began studying with Anna Reznik and Alexei Kremnev, first at the Southold Dance Theatre and then at the Joffrey Academy of Dance in Chicago, Illinois. She began studying at the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet, during the 2008 summer course and enrolled as a full-time student during the 2010 winter term on full scholarship. In her junior year, she danced the lead in Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht Ballet and received the Mae L. Wein Award for outstanding promise. During her summers, she also studied on scholarship at the Joffrey Academy of Dance, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Chautauqua Institution.
Ms. LaFreniere became an apprentice with NYCB in August 2013 and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in June 2014. In 2022, Isabella was promoted to soloist and in 2023 she was promoted to principal. In her time with NYCB, she has performed principal roles in ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, Alexei Ratmanksy, Justin Peck, and Christopher Wheeldon. She has also originated roles in ballets by Sidra Bell, Justin Peck, Jamar Roberts, Pam Tanowitz, and Christopher Wheeldon. In 2018, Ms. LaFreniere was nominated for the 2018 Princess Grace award.
In addition to performing with the NYCB, Ms. LaFreniere is a summa cum laude graduate of Fordham University with a major in Economics and a minor in Business Administration and Real Estate. She also tours with Stars of American Ballet and has performed with BalletCollective. Over the summers, Isabella has taught at Manhattan Youth Ballet, Chautauqua School of Dance, Kaatsbaan Ballet Intensive, A & A Ballet, Southold Dance Theater, Grand Rapids Ballet, and Rochester School of Dance.