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Carrie West to Retire from Ballet

After sustaining a knee injury last season, beloved BalletMet dancer Carrie West underwent major surgery. She had every intention — and we had the highest hopes — of returning to the stage for this year’s spring performances. The months of physical therapy and rehabilitation that followed her procedure have been long, and her recovery has not gone as planned.

With heavy hearts we must announce that, after much consideration and discussion, Ms. West will be retiring from the stage at the end of the 2014-15 season.

During her 17 years with BalletMet, Ms. West captured the hearts of ballet-goers in Columbus and beyond. Her tenure with the company has spanned three Artistic Directors – David Nixon, Gerard Charles and Edwaard Liang – and she was a representative for the American Guild of Musical Artists for more than 10 years. She was also the recipient of the 2004 Violetta Boft Award for Artistic Excellence.

Ms. West started as a company dancer with BalletMet in 1998 and, in the years that followed, played lead roles in virtually every major classical ballet. She has been Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Kitri in Don Quixote and the original Lucy in David Nixon’s Dracula.

Ms. West has performed principal roles in numerous Balanchine ballets including Stars and Stripes, Diamonds in Jewels, Donizetti Variations, Who Cares? and many more. She has performed works by other notable choreographers such as James Kudelka, Twyla Tharp, Stanton Welch, Amy Seiwert and Edwaard Liang, including his Wunderland pas de deux.

For more than a decade, Ms. West has graced us with her talent, artistry and beauty and we will miss her greatly on stage.