NEW YORK, NY - Natalia Osipova, principal dancer of The Royal Ballet and former Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre, will return to ABT as a Guest Artist in the 2026 Summer season at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. Osipova will dance the role of Kitri in Don Quixote at the evening performance on Monday, July 6 at 7:30 P.M., opposite ABT Principal Dancer Daniel Camargo as Basilio. Osipova last performed with ABT in 2018.

Natalia Osipova joined The Royal Ballet as a Principal in autumn 2013, after appearing as a Guest Artist the previous season in Swan Lake with Carlos Acosta. Her roles with the company include the title characters in Giselle, Cinderella, Manon, and Sylvia, as well as Kitri in Don Quixote, Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Lise in La Fille mal gardée, Titania in The Dream, Marguerite in Marguerite and Armand, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Tatiana in Onegin, Mary Vetsera in Mayerling, Natalia Petrovna in A Month in the Country, Anastasia and Anna Anderson in Anastasia, Gamzatti and Nikiya in La Bayadère, and roles in Rhapsody, Serenade, Raymonda Act III, DGV: Danse à grande vitesse, Woman with water, and Tchaikovsky Pas de deux. She has created numerous roles-in The Weathering, Strapless, Woolf Works, Tetractys, Connectome, Medusa, Concerto pour deux, and works by Yuri Possokhov and Alexei Ratmansky, among others.

Osipova has appeared as a guest artist with companies around the world. In March 2012, she became a Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre, where she created the title role in Ratmansky's Firebird and a leading role in his Piano Concerto No. 1. Her awards include Golden Masks for her performances in In the Upper Room (2008) and La Sylphide (2009), Critics' Circle National Dance Awards (Best Female Dancer, 2007, 2010 and 2014, Outstanding Female Classical Performance, 2022), Positano Dance Awards (Best Female Dancer, 2008 and 2011) and a Benois de la Danse Award (Best Female Dancer, 2008).

"Natalia Osipova is an extraordinary artist," said Susan Jaffe, Artistic Director of American Ballet Theatre. "Her performances are filled with emotion and technical excellence. We are thrilled to welcome her back to ABT and look forward to seeing her ignite the stage as Kitri this summer."

Additional performances during ABT's 2026 Summer season will run from June 17-July 18 at the Metropolitan Opera House featuring four full-length ballets from ABT's repertoire. Subscriptions for ABT's 2026 Summer season are currently available for purchase online at abt.org/subscribe or by phone at 212-362-6000. Single tickets for the 2026 Summer season will be on sale starting April 6, 2026 at 12:00 P.M EST.

ABOUT AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE

American Ballet Theatre is one of the greatest dance companies in the world. Revered as a national treasure since its founding season in 1940, its mission is to create, present, preserve, and extend the great repertoire of classical dancing for the widest possible audience. Headquartered in New York City, ABT is the only cultural institution of its size and stature to extensively tour, enchanting audiences for eight decades in 50 U.S. states, 45 countries, and over 480 cities worldwide. ABT's repertoire includes full-length classics from the nineteenth century, the finest works from the early twentieth century, and acclaimed contemporary masterpieces. In 2006, by an act of Congress, ABT was designated America's National Ballet Company®.

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