Chloe Misseldine In Conversation

Chloe Misseldine ‘In Conversation’ with Deborah Weiss

March 24th, 2025

Susan Dalgetty-Ezra, chair of the London Ballet Circle, warmly welcomed Chloe Misseldine to the evening’s conversation, saying that those of us lucky enough to be in London last summer will have seen her guesting with Georgian State Ballet, and also earlier this month at the Ballet Icons gala. Born in Florida, her initial training was at the Orlando Ballet School. She participated in American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Summer Intensives in Orange County, California and as a National Training Scholar in New York, becoming an apprentice with ABT in 2019. Promotion swiftly followed and she was promoted to Principal Dancer in July 2024. Susan also welcomed writer, critic and dancer Deborah Weiss, who would lead the conversation.

Deborah commenced by asking about Chloe’s introduction to dance. Her mother had been a soloist with ABT and was now a teacher at the Orlando school. Had she seen her dance live, inquired Deborah, but Chloe had only experienced her mother’s performance on film as she had left the company when she became pregnant. She recollected, however, the rather fancy shoes which her mother had worn for Cinderella, and which as a child Chloe had so often worn around the house. They wouldn’t fit now, Chloe noted, because she had grown so much taller than her mother!

Chloe’s childhood had been surrounded by the world of ballet; pointe shoes around the house, her mother teaching and taking coaching sessions, etc, and she felt that her mother had been the driving force behind her wish to dance. Not that she had pushed her excessively; as a youngster she had also participated in different sporting activities such as swimming. Nevertheless, she felt that her mother had seen Chloe’s potential as a dancer and gently pushed her in that direction. By about the age of 14 Chloe had found real passion in ballet and it was then that her mother started more intensive coaching, even arranging extra sessions after her days at the Orlando Ballet School.

Having a mother who had also danced was an enormous inspiration, she said. They would constantly discuss ballet. Chloe liked to film her rehearsals and together they would discuss preparation and analyse performances. And her mother would offer vital empathy when Chloe felt she had a bad day. But, asked Deborah, were there moments of trepidation, when she might be slightly nervous or afraid of what her mother might say. Yes, there can be moments like that, responded Chloe, but her mother knows her so well and her feedback was invariably positive, and she was always grateful for it.

Chloe wasn’t quite sure exactly when she had decided that her career was to be as a ballet dancer. She thought that realisation had slowly burned itself into her, and it had certainly been confirmed by the time she started to perform on stage. There you became someone else and had to express that character through dance. The corps, the solos, the partnering; she loved it all.

The discussion then turned to competitions, firstly the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP). Chloe had entered the YAGP regional competition in her home state when she had been 14, progressing to the final round of the competition in New York the following year. What was Chloe’s opinion of such competitions, which today seem to constitute an important aspect of ballet training? She responded that she thought they aided her maturity as a dancer. Competitors get to meet such a wide range of individuals – other dancers, coaches, directors, etc – and to perform in different styles of dance. For instance, the YAGP competition was the first time she had attempted contemporary dance. And, possibly the most important, the first time that she had danced alone on a big stage, knowing that you have just those few moments to get it right and show what you can do. Overall, she loved the experience!

And then came the Prix de Lausanne? Yes, said Chloe, having achieved second place in the YAGP competition she had been invited to take part in the Prix without having to audition first. The Prix provided another step in her growth as a dancer. Her first time in Europe. A smaller, more intimate competition in which individual dancers were very much on their own. While competitors might have their coaches with them they were not permitted to work with them on the actual stage. All rehearsal work for their variations had to be done with the official coaches provided by the Prix; coaches who you were not likely to have even met before. Very much a test of an individual’s ability to respond to unfamiliar situations, said Deborah. And valuable experience, they both agreed.

During the course of the Prix, Cynthia Harvey, with whom Chloe had worked at ABT for some years in the Summer Intensive programme, offered her a contract for the following season with the ABT Studio Company, a small group providing the next generation of dancers for the ABT main company. She was over the moon; she had always wanted to move to New York and become a part of ABT. However, just two weeks later Chloe was contacted by Kate Lydon, Artistic Director of the Studio Company, who said she had a spot available and invited her to join the group immediately. Chloe accepted and accordingly, at just 16, found herself living alone for the first time, in New York, in a house provided for the Studio Company dancers.

The experience in the Studio Company was great. Because it was a small group of just 12 dancers the opportunities for solo work were considerable. They rehearsed all the time, dancing a wide variety of repertoire, new works, classical works, Balanchine. It offered a vital stepping stone into the main company; gaining familiarity with ABT, the dancers, the building, and providing many more opportunities on stage than would usually be available to a dancer going straight into the corps of the main company.

In 2019 Chloe was offered an apprenticeship with ABT itself – and then came the great Covid pandemic! She had been fortunate in being able to return to her home in Florida, where she had the luxury of space and being surrounded by family. Many of her new friends were stuck in New York, often in small apartments, which for an active dancer could be quite brutal. Carlos Lopez, Director of Repertoire at ABT, started up some classes over Zoom very early in the pandemic. Just one or two dancers took part at first, but towards the end some 40 or 50 might take daily class. Eventually ABT offered other dance classes as well – modern, contemporary, etc.

But Chloe was in Florida where things opened up relatively quickly, and her old school (Orlando Ballet) started rehearsing again quite early on in the pandemic. The Orlando Ballet itself was then under the direction of Robert Hill, once a principal with ABT and well known to Chloe, and he offered her the chance to perform with them. So she was back in the studio rehearsing and dancing – great!

Deborah moved on to talk about Chloe’s early experiences in ABT. She had been in the company, in the corps, for just a year when she was promoted to soloist. What had been her first solo role? Chloe replied that latterly in the pandemic ABT had gone touring, in a big bus, giving performances outside. A short Alexei Ratmansky work, created during the pandemic and called Bernstein in a Bubble, was carried on into the new season once theatres had opened up again. Chloe had been understudying second cast with the first cast being mostly principals. And then a first cast member was injured and Chloe, as the only dancer learning the part, had to step in. She had been nervous; she was scared because she would be performing in a major work with all the amazing first cast dancers. But she was also super excited!

She had also danced one of the flower girls in Don Quixote, a soloist role which is featured throughout the ballet, with a really difficult variation in the third act. DQ is such a fun ballet, with so much acting and dancing. You’ve also done Myrtha in Giselle, noted Deborah. A pretty taxing role, said Chloe, with a lot of jumping. It requires considerable stamina – very tough on the legs! She had the benefit of quite lengthy rehearsal for the part, taking it initially in small sections before leading up to the first performance which had been with ABT on tour. So, she said, I’d had plenty of practise before I performed it in New York.

And so we must talk about Swan Lake, said Deborah. Suddenly you were doing Odette/Odile! Susan Jaffe, Artistic Director of ABT, had told Chloe in August that she would be performing these roles in the February, and so she had time to prepare fully. They immediately started rehearsing, combining this with current shows, and in January, with some two months to go, really stepped up the work on Swan Lake. This was to be her first full length ballet and she didn’t know what to expect, how to pace herself, because there was act two – three – and then four…. Chloe described Susan as being amazing, going into detail about every single step and movement. And her partner had also been amazing; so patient with her.

Chloe related a problem at this time that really demonstrates the importance which the pointe shoe has to the ballerina. She liked a particular type and make of shoe and ordered them in batches – necessary because dancers may get through more than one pair during the course of a show. A new batch arrived, ready for Swan Lake, but when she tried them she found they were too hard, definitely not right and she could not dance properly in them.

Luckily she still had a single new pair of usable shoes which she then put aside for the show itself, dancing the remaining rehearsals in old shoes which were steadily and irrevocably falling apart. By the stage rehearsal they were almost completely dead…. Come the first night she had the one good pair left to wear, and she just had to hope they would actually be satisfactory and that they would last the show through. Which fortunately they did! She keeps this pair and has written Kennedy Centre Swan Lake on them as a reminder of yet another stressful occasion. She now makes certain that she has enough shoes in stock!

It was in New York, after Swan Lake, that she received her promotion to Principal Dancer, only a couple of years after becoming a soloist. She had just taken her bow when Susan Jaffe came on stage and promoted her in front of the audience and the whole company; a most unusual occurrence for ABT which is not known for on-stage promotions. It had been an enormous shock; completely unexpected, but a great feeling because everyone around her was so enthusiastic.

Chloe had been surprised and delighted to be offered the role of Tatiana in Onegin, a very mature role for someone just 22. It was her first dramatic ballet and the first full length work she danced at the ‘Met’ (Metropolitan Opera House in New York). The experience of storytelling had been great, but it left you quite drained by the end of the ballet. You really feel you’re that person and experiencing those emotions, she said. Her partner had been Thomas Forster, also dancing his role for the first time. While they hadn’t known each other too well before the show, they had quickly developed a terrific partnership.

Deborah then asked how Chloe had become involved with the State Ballet of Georgia, with which she had recently performed at the London Coliseum. Apparently Nina Ananiashvili, Artistic Director, had messaged Susan to ask whether Chloe might guest with them during their planned London visit. Accordingly, after a rehearsal of Onegin Susan had asked her how she would feel about going to London to dance with an unfamiliar company – and this was while she was still a soloist. Chloe had said that she would love to do it and told us that the Georgian company had been so kind and welcoming.

Again she complimented her partner, also a guest artist, who she said had been amazing. And partnerships were so important. At the recent Ballet Icons gala she had danced with Reece Clarke, another terrific dancer, and not completely unknown to her as she had worked with him on a previous occasion. That was good, because she was dancing Giselle, a role she had not previously tackled. She was, however, hopeful that long term her partner in ABT would continue to be Aran Bell, with whom she felt she was developing a real and most effective relationship. He was always very patient with her; very attentive, happy to go over and over a piece.

Immediately on Chloe’s horizon is her first performance as Giselle, ready for tour across the States starting at the end of April with a New York debut in the summer. And she is also rehearsing Balanchine’s Theme and Variations which she would be dancing when on tour in South Korea, just a week after her Giselle debut. A hard ballet, very scary, very nerve wracking, very fast. Both works are exciting and challenging, and it is the music, she says, which carries her through. Chloe is very much into music, particularly classical at the moment.

Were there choreographers with whom she would like to work? Chloe cited Alexei Ratmansky, an amazing choreographer, very patient with his dancers, with whom she would very much like to work again. Also Twyla Tharp; closely associated with ABT it was probable that Chloe would soon be working with her, which she looked forward to. And maybe some European choreographers, such as Jiří Kylián? Definitely, agreed Chloe. She had already experienced the work of Christopher Wheeldon in Like Water for Chocolate. The elder sister Rosaura was a rather different role, exciting, but also something of a challenge in the amount of acting required.

In a question from the audience Chloe was asked about another competition which she had taken part in relatively recently – the Erik Bruhn competition for which she represented ABT. Taking place in Toronto, it involves a pair of young dancers, one male and one female, selected by their respective artistic directors to represent the company. There were just four couples – from Germany, the Royal Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, and of course themselves. They had danced the Grand Pas Classique, and Lauren Lovette, who had previously choreographed for ABT put together a contemporary piece which had been great fun to dance. The Erik Bruhn competition had been another great experience; she already knew some of the dancers and it had been wonderful to catch up with them again.

So do you ever suffer from nerves, asked Deborah. Yes, I get scared if I haven’t rehearsed enough, responded Chloe – so I rehearse a lot! And I also get nerves just before going on stage, but that prompts me to get on with it and do my job. I’m also currently a little nervous about my forthcoming role in Ashton’s Sylvia; I ‘m not yet sure how to pace the role. With so much travelling, did she suffer from jet lag? How about uneven (eg raked) stages? Did she feel injustice or anger about the probably rather awful men portrayed in Giselle and Onegin? Chloe appeared to take in her stride all these potential bumps in the road; probably remarkable for one so early in their professional career!

Finally, was there a role she wanted to play, or a particular company she would like to guest with. Chloe cited Manon, and also Nikiya in La Bayadère, sadly a ballet not currently in the ABT repertoire. And maybe guesting with Paris Opera Ballet, the Royal Ballet, and New York City Ballet – an eclectic choice.

In concluding the evening, Susan, chair of the London Ballet Circle, thanked both Chloe and Deborah most sincerely for taking part in the evening’s conversation. It had been both fascinating and entertaining and she urged Chloe to consider another trip to this country very soon so that even more audiences could appreciate her talents.

Trevor Rothwell 26-03-24