Chyrstyn Mariah Fentroy

Michael Waldrop

Los Angeles native Chyrstyn Mariah Fentroy began her dance training with her mother, Ruth Fentroy. As a scholarship student at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, she gained early touring experience with the Joffrey Concert Group. She performed as a leading dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) under Virginia Johnson, and during her five-year tenure with the company, she had the opportunity to perform in Austria, Honduras, Italy, Israel, and Turkey.

Her Boston Ballet repertoire includes Paulo Arrais’ ELA Rhapsody in Blue; George Balanchine’s Agon (Pas de Deux), Coppelia (War and Discord, Dawn), The Prodigal Son (Siren); Jorma Elo’s Fifth Symphony of Jean Sibelius; William Forsythe’s Blake Works IIn the Middle Somewhat ElevatedPas/Parts 2018, and Playlist (EP);  Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy, Dew Drop, Arabian, Snow Queen); Justin Peck’s In Creases; Marius Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty (Pas de Trois); and Jerome Robbins’ Interplay and Glass Pieces.

Her DTH repertoire includes Alvin Ailey’s The Lark Ascending; George Balanchine’s Agon (2nd Pas De Trois), and Tchaikovsky Pas De Deux; Ulysses Dove’s Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven; Nacho Duato’s Coming Together (Pas de Deux); Helen Pickett’s When Love; and Glen Tetley’s Dialogues.

Fentroy was featured on the January 2015 cover of Dance Magazine as one of the “25 to Watch,” and she received the Princess Grace Honoraria Award in dance in 2016. In 2018, she was recognized as one of WBUR’s “Artery 25,” which recognizes influential artists of color in the Boston area. Her creative collaborations include the development of the Color Our Future Mentorship Program at Boston Ballet, a choreographic film created for Boston Ballet with Bearwalk Cinema at the Liberty Hotel, and a limited edition shoe design with Rothy’s.

Fentroy joined Boston Ballet as an artist of the Company in 2017. She was promoted to second soloist in 2018, to soloist in 2019, and to principal dancer in 2022.