Joined Ballet West: 2010
Promoted to Soloist: 2012
Promoted to First Soloist: 2014
Promoted to Principal Artist: 2017

Adrian Fry is from Omaha, Nebraska. He joined Ballet West in 2010 and as promoted to Soloist in 2012, First Soloist in 2014, and to Principal in 2017. Adrian trained at Omaha Theater Ballet School, School of American Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. In 2016, Adrian appeared with the contemporary dance company NOW-ID in the Copenhagen Opera Festival. He was also featured in the 25th International Ballet Festival in Havana, Cuba, where Ballet West was one of the first American companies invited to perform since relations changed between the nations.  With Ballet West, Adrian has danced leading roles in Sklute’s Giselle, Balanchine’s Apollo, and the title roles in Stevenson’s Dracula and Cranko’s Onegin, among many others.

Adrian has choreographed since 2012. He’s created dance pieces for music videos and site-specific installations in addition to works for the ballet stage. In July of 2016, he received the first ever Ballet Commission from the Utah Arts Festival to create an original work for their 40th anniversary. In March of 2017, he premiered his first narrative work, The Emperor’s New Clothes, for Ballet West.

In addition to dancing, Adrian frequently teaches for the Ballet West Academy and is principal faculty for the artÉmotion summer intensive. He also assists his wife, former Ballet West Artist Jordan Richardson, in building their luxury wedding cake business, Ballerina Baker (@ballerina_baker).

Follow Adrian on Instagram @fryadrian.

Click below to see Adrian’s roles.

2022-23 Season

  • Onegin (Cranko) Onegin
  • Return to a Strange Land (Kylián)
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) Drosselmeyer, Snow Cavalier, Spanish, Waltz of the Flowers

ON TOUR

  • Orange (Nunes) – Ballet West in the Garden, Red Butte Garden Amphitheater, Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Galantheae (LaPlane) – Ballet West in the Garden, Red Butte Garden Amphitheater, Salt Lake City, Utah

2021–22 Season

  • Dracula (Stevenson) Priest, Dracula
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) Drosselmeyer, Snow Cavalier, Waltz of the Flowers, Sugar Plum Cavalier
  • Romeo + Juliet (Smuin) Lord Capulet, Tybalt
  • Glass Pieces (Robbins) “Facades”
  • Carmina Burana (Fonte)
  • Galantheae (LaPlane) Choreographic Festival (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)
  • Orange (Nunes) Choreographic Festival (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)

ON TOUR

  • The Solo Year (Neenan) – Ballet West in the Garden, Red Butte Garden Amphitheater, Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Romeo + Juliet (Smuin) – Tybalt, George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center, Park City, Utah

2020–21 Season

  • Tides (Archibald)
  • Nine Sinatra Songs (Tharp) “All the Way,” “My Way”
  • Precious Gems
    • Aria (Caniparoli)
    • Variations For Four (Dolin) Water
  • The Solo Year (Neenan) Choreographic Festival (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)

ON TOUR

  • The Solo Year (Neenan) – George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center, Park City, Utah

CHOREOGRAPHY

  • With Assurance (Adams, Addison, Fry, Tilton) Choreographic Festival (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)

2019–20 Season

  • Apollo (Balanchine) Apollo
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) Drosselmeyer, Snow Cavalier, Waltz of the Flowers, Sugar Plum Cavalier
  • Giselle (Sklute, after Coralli and Perrot) Alberecht

2018–19 Season

  • Jewels (Balanchine) Emeralds, Diamonds
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) Drosselmeyer, Snow Cavalier, Waltz of the Flowers, Sugar Plum Cavalier
  • Swan Lake (Sklute, after Petipa and Ivanov) Prince Siegfried
  • Onegin (Cranko) Onegin
  • Hidden Voices (Addison) Choreographic Festival (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)
  • Constant Light (Liang) Choreographic Festival (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)

ON TOUR

  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) – Snow Cavalier, Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.

2017–18 Season

  • Serenade (Balanchine)
  • Carmina Burana (Fonte)
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) Waltz of the Flowers, Sugar Plum Cavalier
  • Cinderella (Ashton) The Prince
  • Return to a Strange Land (Kylián)
  • The Shakespeare Suite (Bintley) Othello
  • Jabula (Weir) National Choreographic Festival (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)

ON TOUR

  • Chaconne (Balanchine) Principal Couple, On Tour – Joyce Theater, New York City, New York
  • Dances for Lou (Caniparoli) On Tour – Joyce Theater, New York City, New York
  • Fox on the Doorstep (Fonte) On Tour – Joyce Theater, New York City, New York

2016–17 Season

  • Madame Butterfly (Welch) Sharpless
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) Drosselmeyer, Snow Cavalier, Spanish, Waltz of the Flowers, Sugar Plum Cavalier
  • The Sleeping Beauty (Sklute, after Petipa) Prince Desire, Catalbutte,
  • Chaconne (Balanchine)
  • Facades (Smith)
  • The Green Table (Jooss) Gentleman in Black, Old Soldier
  • Fox on the Doorstep (Fonte) National Choreographic Festival (George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater, Salt Lake City)
  • Dances for Lou (Caniparoli) National Choreographic Festival (George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater, Salt Lake City)

ON TOUR

  • Presto (Fonte) – International Ballet Festival, Havana, Cuba

CHOREOGRAPHY

  • Kinesis – Eccles Center for the Performing Arts, Park City, Utah

2015–16 Season

  • Fancy Free (Robbins) Sailor
  • Overgrown Path (Kylián) “Good Night”
  • Symphony in C (Balanchine) Fourth movement
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) Drosselmeyer, Snow Cavalier, Spanish, Waltz of the Flowers, Mother Buffoon, Sugar Plum Cavalier
  • Romeo and Juliet (Cranko) Paris, Tybalt
  • Afternoon of a Faun (Robbins)
  • Games (Pickett)
  • The Rite of Spring (Fonte)
  • In Memoriam (Ruud) (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)
  • Fragments of Simplicity (Oguma) (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)

ON TOUR

  • Who Cares? (Balanchine) – Northrup Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Fancy Free (Robbins) Sailor – Northrup Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota

2014–15 Season

  • In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated (Forsythe) (Grand America Hotel Ballroom, Salt Lake City)
  • Giselle (Sklute after Perrot and Coralli) Albrecht, Pas de Quatre
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) Herr Stahlbaum, Drosselmeyer, Mouse King, Snow Cavalier, Spanish, Arabian, Mother Buffoon, Waltz of the Flowers, Sugar Plum Cavalier
  • Swan Lake (Sklute, after Petipa) Benno, Prince Siegfried
  • Square Dance (Balanchine) Principal
  • Almost Tango (Fonte)
  • In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated (Forsythe)
  • Presto (Fonte) Innovations (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)
  • Facades (Smith) Innovations (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)

ON TOUR

  • The Lottery (Caniparoli) – Royal Theater, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
  • In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated (Forsythe) – Royal Theater, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
  • Divertimento No. 15 (Balanchine) – Belcher Center, Longview, Texas
  • Divertimento No. 15 (Balanchine) – Winspear Opera House, Dallas, Texas
  • In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated (Forsythe) – Winspear Opera House, Dallas, Texas
  • Games (Pickett) – Joyce Theater, New York City, New York
  • The Sixth Beauty (Neenan) – Joyce Theater, New York City, New York
  • The Lottery (Caniparoli) – Joyce Theater, New York City, New York
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) – Austad Auditorium, Ogden, Utah
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) – Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.
  • Divertimento No. 15 (Balanchine) – Aspen Performing Arts Center, Aspen, Colorado

CHOREOGRAPHY

  • Pulse Innovations (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)

2013–14 Season

  • The Firebird (Christensen) (Kingsbury Hall, Salt Lake City)
  • Petite Mort (Kylián)
  • Who Cares? (Balanchine) “Bidin’ My Time,” “That Certain Feeling”
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) Herr Stahlbaum, Drosselmeyer, Mouse King, Snow Cavalier, Spanish, Mother Buffoon, Waltz of the Flowers
  • The Sleeping Beauty (Sklute after Petipa) Prince Desire, Prince Floristan, Lilac Cavalier
  • Forgotten Land (Kylián)
  • Divertimento #15 (Balanchine)
  • The Sixth Beauty (Neenan) Innovations (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)
  • Paths (Anderson) Innovations (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)
  • Inverted Affect (Gum) Innovations (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)

ON TOUR

  • The Sleeping Beauty (Sklute after Petipa) – Chicago Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, Illinois
  • The Lottery (Caniporoli) – Chicago Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

SELECTED WORLD PREMIERE ROLES CREATED FOR HIM

  • The Rite of Spring (Fonte)
  • Presto (Fonte)
  • The Sixth Beauty (Neenan)
  • Mixed Signals (Adams)
  • Paths (Anderson)

2012–13 Season

  • But Never Doubt I Love (Pickett)
  • The Lottery (Caniparoli) Mr. Graves
  • Bolero (Fonte)
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) Drosselmeyer, Herr Stahlbaum, Mouse King, Spanish, Mother Buffoon
  • Cinderella (Ashton) Prince’s Friend, Stepsister
  • Jewels (Balanchine) Emeralds, Diamonds

ON TOUR

  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) – Drosselmeyer, Herr Stahlbaum, Mouse King, Spanish, Mother Buffoon – The Kennedy Center, Washington DC
  • Emeralds (Balanchine) – Smith Center, Las Vegas

SELECTED WORLD PREMIERE ROLES CREATED FOR HIM

  • The Lottery (Caniporoli) – Mr. Graves
  • Mercurial Landscape (Gates)

CHOREOGRAPHY

  • Spun

2011–12 Season

  • Dracula (Stevenson)
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) Drosselmeyer, Herr Stahlbaum, Mouse King, Spanish, Arabian
  • Don Quixote (Holmes after Petipa) Don Quixote, Gamache, Matador
  • Petite Mort (Kylián)

ON TOUR

  • Sinfonietta (Kylian) – Chicago Dancing Festival & Wolf Trap Park for the Performing Arts
  • The Four Temperaments (Balanchine) Phlegmatic – Wolf Trap Park for the Performing Arts
  • Grand Synthesis (Shields) – Wolf Trap Park for the Performing Arts

SELECTED WORLD PREMIERE ROLES CREATED FOR HIM

  • Descent (Bearden)
  • Forces at Play (Adams)
  • Eenvoudig (DeYoung)

2010–11 Season

  • The Four Temperaments (Balanchine) Phelgmatic
  • Carmina Burana (Butler)
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) Herr Stahlbaum, Mouse King, Arabian
  • The Sleeping Beauty (world premiere Sklute after Petipa) The King, Kindness Cavalier,
  • Sinfonietta (Kylián)
  • Chaconne (Balanchine)
  • Bolero (Fonte)
  • Falling Into Loving Arms (Mattingly) Innovations (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)
  • Regarding Us (Adams) Innovations (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)
  • White Noise (Scher) Innovations (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)

ON TOUR

  • Sinfonietta (Kylian) – Las Vegas, Nevada

SELECTED WORLD PREMIERE ROLES CREATED FOR HIM

  • Trapped (Ruud)
  • Fall into Loving Arms (Mattingly)

Onegin in Cranko’s Onegin

Prince Siegfried in Sklute’s Swan Lake

Apollo in Balanchine’s Apollo © The George Balanchine Trust

Caniparoli’s Aria

Balanchine’s Diamonds © The George Balanchine Trust

Photos by Beau Pearson