Biography
A native of Sarasota, Florida, Bridgett Zehr trained with the Sarasota Ballet’s Dance – The Next Generation programme, The Harid Conservatory in Florida and Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy. Ms. Zehr joined The National Ballet of Canada from Houston Ballet in 2006, was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2009 and became a Guest Artist in 2011.
With the National Ballet, Ms. Zehr has danced principal roles in The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Onegin, Don Quxiote, Cinderella and Opus 19/The Dreamer. She has performed in works by George Balanchine, including Apollo, Diamonds from Jewels, The Four Temperaments, Symphony in C and Theme and Variations. She has danced lead roles in Chroma, Russian Seasons, Watch her, Emergence and Prokofiev Pas de Deux.
Quotes
“Best of 2010 – Most Amazing Performers: Bridget Zehr of National Ballet of Canada in Wayne McGregor’s Chroma and in Robbins’ Opus 19/The Dreamer: Eccentric yet delicate, daring yet vulnerable.”
Dance Magazine, 2010
Swan Lake
“Zehr is a killer combination of doe-eyed delicacy, long-limbed lyrical grace and steely technique. Zehr and Konvalina’s is an Odette/Siegfried partnership that comes close to subverting Kudelka’s bleak landscape with, even in death, a glimmer of hope buoyed by enduring love.”
Toronto Star, 2010
The Sleeping Beauty
“Recently promoted American-trained Principal Bridgett Zehr, who combines willowy flexibility with aristocratic poise and poetic grace, made a keenly anticipated debut as Princess Aurora, imbuing the roles with delicate fragility.”
Dancing Times, 2010
“Her incandescent stage presence, extraordinary musicality and true ballerina poise [makes] her an NBC audience favourite… Zehr’s portrayal suggests a more tentative, fragile nature, though one that gains in self-confidence as the drama unfolds.”
Pointe Magazine, 2010