About Mrs. Ross Donna Ross | Dallas Texas Classical Ballet
Donna Ross Ballet: Mrs. Ross

Donna Ross, a native of Midland, Texas, began her professional training with Kathleen Crofton, a protégé of the prima ballerina assoluta, Anna Pavlova, and her faculty at the Ballet Center of Buffalo in Buffalo, New York. She rose to the rank of principal dancer with Miss Crofton’s company, the Festival Ballet of New York, performing the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy at the age of 16, partnered by the Joffrey Ballet’s Paul Sutherland to great critical and popular acclaim. She danced the role of the Enchanted Princess in the Bluebird Pas de Deux in “Aurora’s Wedding” and the role of The Waltz in ”Les Sylphides”, a production which featured Dame Margot Fonteyn at the Eastman Theater in Rochester, New York in 1973.

Ms. Ross was invited to join Joffrey II in 1973 where she danced principal roles in Sir Frederick Ashton’s “Façade” and Arpino’s “Confetti” among others. She was promoted into the main company, the Joffrey Ballet, in 1976 where she performed featured roles in the world premiere revival of Saint Leon’s “La Vivandiere”, starring Kevin McKenzie and in Arpino’s ”Kettentanz”. Jennifer Dunning of The New York Times wrote in 1978, “Miss Ross is a young dancer to watch.”

Since the early days of her performing career, Miss Ross has taught ballet both here and abroad at schools and companies such as The Dallas Ballet Academy, the Washington School of Ballet, Steps (NYC), the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in North Dallas, the academy of Texas Ballet Theater, and at the Draper Center for Dance Education in Rochester, New York where she also served as associate ballet mistress for Draper’s Rochester City Ballet in 2000-2001. In addition to her career in classical ballet, Ms. Ross was a Southwest Regional All-Around championship-winning competitive gymnast and has studied modern dance, jazz, tap, voice, character, music and drama. Her drama training includes classes with Stella Adler in New York City and with Aaron Frankel at Columbia University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Ross has appeared in televised performances, commercials, and films including the 1978, PBS Dance in America “Live from the Greek Theater” production of Agnes de Mille’s “Conversations About The Dance” starring Miss de Mille, Gregory Peck, The Beach Boys and The Joffrey Ballet. Her dance commentary has been featured in Vanity Fair, Dance Magazine, The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News, on radio and on television.

Her choreography has been performed by dancers throughout the United States. Her ballet, “Dome Epais le Jasmin” was chosen to be presented at the Regional Dance America/Southwest Festival 2000 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Donna Ross Ballet (formerly Frisco City Ballet) had its inaugural performance on December 13, 2007 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker”. A winner of the Hero Award in Midland, Texas for achievement in the field of dance, Ms. Ross is in much demand as a teacher both here and abroad.