Meet the Principal Dancer: Jennifer Hackbarth

November 2023 | Photo by Frank Atura

Not long before The Sarasota Ballet’s 2023 – 2024 Season began this past August, the Company announced the addition of an exciting new dancer, Principal Dancer Jennifer Hackbarth. Just a few months later, Jennifer wowed audiences in The Sarasota Ballet’s season opening program, Progression in Rep, where she would dance the lead roles in all three ballets over the 5-performance run. Dance Critic Carrie Seidman described her during a review for the Herald Tribune as “a standout addition” and that her “trilogy of performances was a testament not only to her stamina, but her versatility and nuance.” 

Hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jennifer trained at several important and prestigious institutions including the School of American Ballet and John Cranko Schule, all of which she attended on full merit scholarship. Starting her professional career as an Apprentice with New York City Ballet, Jennifer eventually made the move to Germany in 2017 when she joined the Dresden Semperoper Ballet where she rose to the rank of Soloist. During her time in Europe, she danced difficult and technically challenging roles by some of the great Choreographers of modern and classical ballet. Highlights during her career thus far include lead roles in Aaron S. Watkin’s Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, and La Bayadere; William Forsythe’s The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, The Second Detail, and Impressing the Czar; George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, and The Nutcracker; and David Dawson’s Romeo and Juliet and Giselle. 

“We are thrilled that Jennifer has joined the Company,” explain Iain Webb and Margaret Barbieri, Director and Assistant Director of The Sarasota Ballet. “We were so impressed by her overall background and most specifically her experience dancing in classical ballets, such as works by the renowned George Balanchine. Her versatility, technicality, and her ability to grasp different styles of choreography match our artistic vision so perfectly. We are all so eager to watch her continue to grow and flourish as a part of The Sarasota Ballet family.”