Name: Kristi Boone
Age: 27
Location: New York City
Education: High school diploma, Fairport High School, Fairport, New York
Job Title: American Ballet Theater (ABT) soloist
What She Does: As a soloist for ABT, Kristi performs in ballets at the Met and City Center in the spring and fall seasons, and tours with the company throughout the rest of the year. For the spring season alone, she’ll perform in 64 shows in eight weeks. In her off-performance hours, she spends her time rehearsing and training with fellow dancers, the ABT staff, and choreographers.
How She Got Her Gig: Kristi’s mother and grandmother enrolled her in tap and jazz classes as a young child, though she didn’t take up ballet until age 13. “This is a late start for most dancers, but I think my background in tap and jazz and a little gymnastics helped me with my coordination. And I knew I had to work harder than anyone to catch up,” she says. Kristi later won three gold medals in the New England Ballet Awards, and then graduated high school early in 1999 to join ABT’s Studio Company; a year later, she joined the main company at ABT as a member of the corps de ballet. She landed the soloist role in 2007.
Always Dancing: Kristi’s performance schedule is rigorous, and thus requires a great deal of offstage dancing. On nonperformance days, company class begins at 10:15 a.m. and rehearsals run until 7 p.m. “On performance days, we will have class usually around 11 a.m., rehearsal until 5 or 6 p.m., and then the show at 8 p.m.,” she says. “It’s a very tough schedule to have, but you learn when to rest, and it keeps you in great shape. It also forces you to enjoy your time off.”
Practice, Practice: Being an ABT soloist is a time-consuming career, and requires that Kristi always be working to take her performance to the next level. But the time and effort pays off, says Kristi, because it grants her the opportunity to perform in front of a crowd. “The best part of my career is performing. There is nothing like the feeling you get from stepping out on stage and giving it your all and receiving the audience’s applause,” she says.
A Physical Career: “The most challenging part of dancing is dealing with injuries and with the feeling that you always want to do more or want to do better. Sometimes it’s better to relax, yet sometimes it’s better to push for more,” she says. To make sure she’s treating her body right, Kristi eats a balanced diet, gets massages, and works out hard—including jogging and playing basketball in her nondancing hours. And when her body is tired or injured, she rests until she is healed.
This Job’s for You if: You have a determination and passion for dancing, a willingness to work hard, and an ability to be confident—and humble—in a professional setting. It also helps to have a thick skin and learn from rejection to improve your dancing skills and achieve your dreams. “As an artist, you want perfection and the chance for bigger and better roles,” she says. “With rejection, you have to learn to just keep going and push yourself even harder every day.”
