Shanghai East Ballet School (CHINA)

Principal

2017

Helsinki International Ballet Competition bronze medal 2009, Youth America Grand Prix Finals Top 12 2009, Youth America Grand Prix Finals bronze medal 2011, Youth America Grand Prix gold medal in Classical Category 2011, Youth America Grand Prix silver medal in Contemporary Category 2011, World Ballet Competition silver medal 2012, Cape Town International Ballet Competition gold medal 2012, International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize Choreographic Prize 2015

Junxiong Zhao was born in Chongqing, China. He began his training at age 11 with Shanghai East Ballet School in Shanghai, China. In 2010, he began training at The Washington Ballet School under Kee Juan Han and Carlos Varcarcel and a year later joined The Washington Ballet Studio Company. In 2012, he joined Ballet Arizona, dancing many roles including Cinderella, La Bayadère, and Romeo and Juliet. Zhao has received many national and international awards, including the Choreographic Prize at the 2015 International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize, Senior Silver Medal at World Ballet Competition 2012; Senior Gold Medal at the 2012 Cape Town International Ballet Competition in classical and contemporary categories; Senior Bronze Medal at the 2011 Youth America Grand Prix, New York; Senior Gold Medal in the Classical Category at the 2011 Youth America Grand Prix Semi-finals, Torrington, Connecticut; and Senior Silver Medal in the Contemporary at Youth America Grand Prix Semi-finals; Junior Bronze Medal at the 2009 Helsinki International Ballet Competition in Helsinki, Finland; and Top 12 at the 2009 Youth American Grand Prix Finals, New York. Zhao was awarded a scholarship for The School at Jacob’s Pillow in Becket, Massachusetts (2011), and a scholarship for the The Washington Ballet Trainee Program in Washington, DC (2010– 2011). Zhao joined Boston Ballet as a corps de ballet member in 2014, and was promoted to second soloist in 2015, soloist in 2016, and principal dancer in 2017. He has performed principal roles in Boston Ballet’s productions of Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, Marius Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty, George Balanchine’s Donizetti Variations, and Ivan Liška’s Le Corsaire.