Patricia McBride

American ballerina with the longest career on record as principal dancer for 28 years with The New York City Ballet. McBride was internationally acclaimed for her long and renowned adagio partnership with dancer Edward Villella.

After joining New York City Ballet at age 16, McBride was promoted to principal dancer by the time she was 18. Known for exuding sweetness and warmth in addition to her enviable talent, she emerged as a star in an allegedly starless company and despite rumors that ballet master George Balanchine discouraged such things, she projected a personality of her own. At age 20 she danced "Swan Lake," often considered the test of a true ballerina and the attainment of the highest ambition.

McBride danced over 40 roles, 20 of which were choreographed by Balanchine and others. Roles created specifically for her emphasized her expressive versatility, ranging from dark mystery to impish glee, including "La Valse," "Coppelia" and "Dances at a Gathering." In addition to performing with the New York City Ballet, she appeared with smaller, less well known troupes in such classics as "Giselle" and "Sleeping Beauty."

After a grueling 20 year schedule of dancing seven times a week and rehearsing five hours a day, McBride took a year off from her beloved company in 1983 to have a son. After his birth, she lessened her performances to three times a week to better balance her career with the responsibilities of motherhood.

Retiring from her stellar career with New York City Ballet on 4 June 1989 to a standing room only performance at Lincoln Center in New York, McBride accepted a position as a tenured professor of dance at Indiana State University where her husband, former New York City Ballet principal dancer Pierre Bonnefoux, chairs the dance department.

'My career went beyond my wildest dreams . I've loved every minute of it. I did everything I wanted to do. I just feel very, very lucky, very blessed. I can look back and have no regrets...