At the close of the 2023 Fall Season, 2 New York City Ballet dancers – Gilbert Bolden III and David Riccardo – were named the company’s newest soloists. The announcements were made by Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan after yesterday’s matinee performance.
Both dancers debuted lead roles during the opening season of NYCB’s 75th anniversary.
Bolden has debuted in featured roles in Bourrée Fantasque, Concerto Barocco, and Western Symphony (1st Movement), and performed featured roles in Orpheus (Pluto), Symphony in C (3rd Movement Demi-Soloist), and Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.
Riccardo has debuted in featured roles in “Emeralds” from Jewels, Orpheus, Serenade (Dark Angel), and La Sonnambula, and also performed featured roles in Agon, Symphony in C (1st Movement Demi-Soloist), Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2, and Glass Pieces.
2 New York City Ballet Dancers Promoted to Soloist
Gilbert Bolden III was born in San Diego, California and began dancing at the age of nine in Las Vegas, Nevada. His ballet training began in 2011 at Idyllwild Arts Academy in Idyllwild, CA, and he continued his studies at The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, PA in 2013.
In 2014, Bolden enrolled at the School of American Ballet, NYCB’s official school. He became an apprentice with the Company in August 2017 and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in August 2018.
Since joining NYCB, Bolden has performed featured roles in a range of works including Balanchine’s Episodes, Firebird, The Four Temperaments, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Theseus, Bottom), and George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Cavalier, Dr. Stahlbaum, Mother Ginger, Mouse King); Justin Peck’s Belles-Lettres, Copland Dance Episodes, and Partita; Alysa Pires’ Standard Deviation; and Alexei Ratmansky’s Voices.
In addition, he has originated featured roles in Silas Farley’s Architects of Time, Peck’s Bright and Rotunda, and Gianna Reisen’s Composer’s Holiday.
Davide Riccardo was born in Messina, Italy and began his dance training at the age of 5 at the Istituto Regionale Della Danza in Messina, Italy. In 2012, he began training at the Rome Opera Ballet School.
He entered the School of American Ballet as a full-time student in the fall of 2015. He became an apprentice with the Company in August 2018 and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in January 2019.
Riccardo is a 2021-22 recipient of the Janice Levin Award, which is bestowed annually on a promising member of NYCB’s corps de ballet. In 2018, as a student at SAB, Riccardo received the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise and the Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists.
Since joining the Company, Riccardo has performed featured roles in George Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15, The Four Temperaments, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Hot Chocolate, Dr. Stahlbaum, Mother Ginger, Mouse King), and La Valse; Ratmansky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Voices; Robbins’ Concertino; Jamar Roberts’ Emanon – In Two Movements; and Christopher Wheeldon’s DGV: Danse à Grande Vitesse. He has also originated featured roles in Andrea Miller’s sky to hold and Reisen’s Play Time.
Featured Photo of New York City Ballet‘s Davide Riccardo with Sara Mearns and Miriam Miller in George Balanchine’s Serenade. Photo by Erin Baiano.
