Margaret Tracey

Margaret Tracey
Name	Margaret Tracey
Occupation	Ballet dancer, teacher, artistic director

Margaret Tracey is an American ballet dancer, teacher, and artistic director noted for her long tenure as a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre and later roles as a répétiteur, educator, and leader in the ballet community. Her career connected major institutions, choreographers, and repertory across New York City, Moscow, and international touring venues. Tracey’s influence spans performance, staging, and pedagogy, linking generations of dancers and repertory from classical to contemporary works.

Early life and education

Tracey was born and raised in the United States and trained in regional and national institutions that have produced numerous artists associated with School of American Ballet, Joffrey Ballet School, and state companies such as San Francisco Ballet and The Royal Ballet. Her formative studies included exposure to faculty who had danced with companies like New York City Ballet, Ballets Russes, and Vic-Wells Ballet. She attended programs and summer intensives connected to institutions such as American Dance Festival, The Juilliard School, and conservatories affiliated with municipal arts councils and cultural foundations. Early competitions and scholarships placed her among cohorts that later joined ensembles like National Ballet of Canada, Paris Opera Ballet, and Bolshoi Ballet.

Ballet training and early career

Tracey’s classical training emphasized Vaganova, Cecchetti, and Balanchine-derived methodologies that trace lineage to teachers from Mariinsky Theatre and La Scala Theatre Ballet School. As a young artist she performed with regional companies and toured repertory drawn from choreographers including George Balanchine, Marius Petipa, Frederick Ashton, and Michel Fokine. Early engagements brought her into contact with directors and choreographers associated with Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Paul Taylor Dance Company, and contemporary makers working at venues such as Lincoln Center and Sadler's Wells Theatre. These experiences led to an invitation to join a major American company in the 1980s, where she rose through the ranks amid dancers from Royal Ballet School and Central School of Ballet backgrounds.

American Ballet Theatre principal dancer

Tracey joined American Ballet Theatre and advanced to principal dancer, performing under artistic directors connected to legacies such as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Kevin McKenzie, and administrators who maintained repertory from Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. During her principal tenure she shared casts with colleagues who trained at institutions like School of American Ballet and John Cranko Schule, and worked with guest artists from Kirov Ballet, Royal Ballet, and Mariinsky Ballet. Her years with the company coincided with tours to cultural capitals including Washington, D.C., Tokyo, Milan, Paris, and Moscow, and participation in festivals such as Spoleto Festival USA and Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.

Repertoire and notable performances

Tracey’s repertory encompassed canonical roles from choreographers whose works are preserved in the repertoires of American Ballet Theatre, Royal Opera House, and national houses: she danced leading parts in versions of Swan Lake, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, and Romeo and Juliet staged after Marius Petipa, Jules Perrot, and Enrico Cecchetti sources. She originated roles in new works by contemporary choreographers associated with Twyla Tharp, William Forsythe, Alvin Ailey, and Christopher Wheeldon, and performed featured roles in repertory by Jerome Robbins and Anthony Tudor. Critics compared performances to those by historic interpreters from Bolshoi Theatre and Royal Ballet, and her interpretations were preserved in company archives and filmed programs presented at venues like Metropolitan Opera House and festivals including Vail International Dance Festival.

Teaching, coaching, and artistic leadership

After retiring from full-time performance, Tracey transitioned to teaching and staging, working as a répétiteur and coach for repertory owned or licensed by companies and institutions such as American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, Boston Ballet, and conservatories affiliated with The Juilliard School and University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She served on faculties and guest-staffed workshops at summer programs linked with School of American Ballet, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and international academies in London, Rome, and St. Petersburg. In artistic leadership roles she collaborated with directors from The Royal Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, and national companies in staging works by Frederick Ashton and George Balanchine, and advised boards and councils associated with National Endowment for the Arts and cultural ministries on repertory preservation and dancer development.

Awards and honors

Tracey received recognition and awards from professional organizations and institutions connected to the ballet field, including medals, fellowships, and institutional honors conferred by foundations such as Princess Grace Foundation, Kennedy Center, and national arts councils. She was acknowledged in rosters and gala programs alongside recipients from Royal Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, and Bolshoi Ballet, and received invitations to serve on juries for competitions like Prix de Lausanne and national fellowship selection panels associated with YoungArts and regional performing arts trusts.

Personal life and legacy

Tracey’s personal life includes long-standing professional partnerships and mentorship relationships with artists who have led companies such as American Ballet Theatre, Royal Ballet, and Boston Ballet. Her legacy is evident in the students and dancers she coached who now hold positions at institutions including New York City Ballet, English National Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, and in the continued performance of staged works she helped preserve. Archives, oral histories, and company records at institutions like American Ballet Theatre and major performing arts libraries document her contributions to 20th- and 21st-century ballet practice and repertory stewardship.

Category:American ballerinas