Step into the world of ballet beyond the spotlight with our exclusive feature! Each edition offers a glimpse into the off-stage lives of your favorite dancers, showcasing their unique hobbies and passions. Discover the surprising and delightful activities that make these artists’ lives as captivating as their performances.
ADRIENNE KERR
Ballet Idaho
Principal Dancer
@adriennekerr
Hometown Glory
Which local cafe or restaurant fuels you before rehearsal or after a performance?
Slow by Slow, Push and Pour, Wylder, Yoi Tomo.
Where’s your favorite spot in your city to unwind outside of ballet?
My house! With my feet up, a drink, and my boyfriend and doggy by my side.
What’s the most Instagrammable spot in your city, and why does it capture its spirit?
Sawtooth Mountains. Snow-capped mountains, blue alpine lakes, green rivers, trees everywhere, and beautiful crystal clear skies.
In Focus: Nutcracker
What’s your favorite Nutcracker memory, on stage or off?
We have an arabesque press, flip to fish in our Grand Pas de Deux, and between the lift, the music, and the exciting toss out of the lift and into the fish, it’s a moment I look forward to every year.
What’s one holiday indulgence or ritual you look forward to every year?
Honestly the rest, relaxation, food, and down time that comes after Nutcracker.
Inspirations & Setbacks
What’s your favorite dance movie of all time—and why does it inspire you?
I’m a millennial so if I don’t say Center Stage, I think there would be a riot. But also, it’s the best.
Who is your biggest dance inspiration (past or present)?
Too many. Gelsey Kirkland, Sofiane Sylvie, Alina Cojucaru, Svetlana Zakharova, Maria Kochetkova, Marianela Núñez.
Can you share the moment you realized you wanted to be a dancer?
There were many. Once after watching Michelle Kwan compete in figure skating at the Olympics around 3 or 4. My mom suggested starting with a ballet lesson, and I never stopped. The other was watching San Francisco Ballet on tour at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe, NM around age 11. I saw Muriel Maffre do In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated and I was hooked.Â
What’s your personal practice philosophy—how do you approach growth in the studio?
Relentless. Growth is never-ending. If you feel you’ve done it all, it’s probably time to stop. The kind of work in the studio has shifted throughout my professional career, but the constant is always to do my best, every day. That looks different from day to day, and that’s okay. But above all, work towards improvement, understanding, and strength every day.Â
Biggest struggle you’ve faced in your dance journey, and how you overcame it?
For me, injuries have been incredible teachers. Learning to problem solve, find the cause, change the technique, discover new strengths, and move forward with new knowledge, approaches, and growth. Stress injuries to my shins and metatarsals in school, hip surgery at 21, tearing the plantar plate in my big toe, needing a PRP injection in my bicep tendon and rotator cuff, psoas and rectus femorus tendinopathy—each injury is an exercise in mental fortitude, diligent retraining, and extreme self-physical knowledge. Starting my 18th season as a professional dancer is a testament to the many times I’ve had to overcome the cause of my injuries, and the recovery from them. Â
What’s one thing you wish you had known as a young dancer?
If I could tell younger Adrienne anything, it would be to fall in love with the work of ballet sooner. Cherish the time spent cultivating your technique, artistic expression, and skill. When the passion isn’t there, the dedication to excellence and improvement in yourself will be.Â
If you had to describe what dance means to you in just one word, what would it be?Â
Journey. From start to finish, dance and the pursuit of success in it is a journey that is ever-changing.
Rapid-fire Round:
Least favorite ballet step?
Pas de chat. I look ridiculous.
Go-to coffee order—and from where?Â
A latte with a sprinkle of hazelnut. Seriously. A whisper. Â
Essential post-show ritual?
A juicy steak or burger.
Current song/artist you have on repeat?
Kid Cudi.
ABOUT ADRIENNE
Adrienne’s dance education began in Albuquerque, New Mexico and was enriched by study with Gelsey Kirkland as well as other internationally recognized summer ballet programs. In Youth America Grand Prix competitions, Adrienne earned multiple Top 12 and bronze honors prior to performing in the New York finals. Training at Pacific Northwest Ballet School on annual scholarships led to joining Ballet Idaho at age 17 where she soon progressed to dancing lead roles.
In 2015, Adrienne was promoted to Principal Artist. She has been praised in lead roles for Anastos’ The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Firebird, Raymonda, Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Midsummer Night’s Dream and Ravel Piano Concerto as well as Belle in Wells’ Beauty and the Beast; soloist roles in George Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15, Who Cares?, Serenade, Square Dance, Concerto Barocco, Agon and Rubies, Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs, Robyn Mineko-Williams’ Grey Horses, Craig Davidson’s Ambiguous Content, Edwaard Liang’s Cinderella, and Ricardo Amarante’s Love, Fear, Loss.
In addition to films of Robyn Mineko-Williams’ I Will Always See Your Face and Danielle Rowe’s For Pixie and Carnival of the Animals, Adrienne originated roles in the premiere of Craig Davidson’s Ghost(Light), Penny Saunders’ The Lady in the Red Hat, and as Odette in the premiere of Garrett Anderson and Anne Mueller’s Swan Lake. Most recent roles include Danielle Rowe’s Dreamland, James Kudelka’s Man in Black and originating the title role in Ricardo Amarante’s Carmen.
Adrienne counts among her honors The Whittenberger Award for scholastic achievement, Athlete of the Year for Fusion Magazine and a nomination to Idaho Business Review’s Accomplished Under 40 program. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Boise State University as a part of the National Society for Collegiate Scholars. Especially notable is her nomination for the prestigious national Princess Grace Foundation Dance Performance Awards.
During her career, Adrienne has served as company dancer representative, posed for renowned sculptor Benjamin Victor, and modeled for clients such as Canon and Sony. She is an RPCollection brand Pro, dance competition adjudicator, YAGP coach, pointe shoe fitting consultant, injury recovery advisor, and master class teacher.
Adrienne also teaches the Ballet Idaho trainees, BIA advanced ballet and pointe and Dance for Parkinson’s as well as in summer intensive courses throughout the Pacific Northwest. Her select private students have been accepted to nationwide summer, collegiate, annual training programs, and professional companies. This is Adrienne’s seventeenth season with Ballet Idaho.
Featured Image: Ballet Idaho Principal Dancer Adrienne Kerr in Christopher Stowell’s Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Carrie Hampton. Courtesy of Ballet Idaho.
Image 1: Photo by Weston McGhee.Â
Image 2: Photo by Angela Sterling.Â
Image 3: Photo by Madison Maltby.Â
Image 4: Ballet Idaho Principal Dancer Adrienne Kerr in Swan Lake. Photo by Otto Kitsinger. Courtesy of Ballet Idaho.Â
