Emerson Dayton was born in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania and trained at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She was member of Charlotte Ballet from 2020 to 2022, joined the National Ballet as a Corps de Ballet member in 2022 and was promoted to Second Soloist in 2024.
Most recently, Emerson made her debut as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and as Principal Woman in Rhapsody. Her repertoire includes the title role in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Olga in Onegin, Neapolitan Dance in Swan Lake, Blossom in Cinderella, Amour in Don Quixote, Princess Sorokina in Anna Karenina as well as roles in Giselle, MADDADDAM, Jewels, Suite en Blanc, Rhapsody, Concerto, Emma Bovary, Passion and The Collective Agreement.
Emerson competed in The International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize, representing The National Ballet of Canada in 2023.