Ballet West’s Katlyn Addison Brings Thoughtful Curiosity to Every Role
Ballet West principal Katlyn Addison knows how to draw on different aspects of her artistry to assume the essence of every role. As the Firebird, energy emanates from her limbs, encasing the stage in her glow. As Juliet, she taps into a sweet shyness, her movements wrenchingly tender. And in William Forsythe’s Blake Works I, she moves through the intricate choreography with grace and exactitude.
Addison’s talent goes beyond just versatility. She approaches her craft with a distinct intelligence, thoughtfully considering each nuance and carefully building her characters.
“She’s a perfect fit for so many roles, but so many roles also become a perfect fit for her,” says Ballet West artistic director Adam Sklute. “It’s almost as if she creates the role herself while she’s dancing.”
Addison joined Ballet West’s corps in 2011, at age 23, and has steadily risen through the ranks at the Salt Lake City–based company. Since her promotion to principal in 2021—which made her the first Black female principal dancer in Ballet West history—Addison has made a number of notable debuts, including Tatiana, in John Cranko’s Onegin, and the notoriously challenging dual role of Odette/Odile.
“I want to create a legacy in the ballet world,” says Addison, who is also an emerging choreographer. “I hope it inspires the next generation. I hope they see themselves in me—and not just Black dancers: I hope dancers that might not look like the jewelry box ballerina see themselves in me.”
Charting Her Path
Addison, a native of Ontario, Canada, started out as a comp kid, training and competing in tap, jazz, acro, lyrical, and ballet. Her early aptitude and excitement for dance inspired her to audition for the National Ballet School of Canada, where she trained until her early teens. At this point, Addison needed a break from the intensity of dance, opting instead to run track in seventh grade. In this, too, she excelled, setting an Ontario record.
This brief pause renewed her “hunger and drive” for dance, she says, and she returned to ballet a year later. Addison moved her studies to the Quinte Ballet School of Canada, under the direction of Mercedes Bernardez. Her thoughtfulness and dedication were apparent even then, Bernardez says.
“Since day one, I saw in Katlyn talent, perseverance, and discipline,” Bernardez remembers, citing Addison’s natural curiosity during her ballet lessons. “It was a constant learning and open-mindedness towards what it means to be better. I think that’s the best quality in a dancer, and I think that’s what she has—constant learning and improving and investigating.”
Learning to Trust
When Sklute first saw Addison, then 18, dance at a regional Youth America Grand Prix competition in Dallas, Texas, he immediately knew that she was an artist he’d be interested in working with. Addison performed a variation from La Bayadère, which Sklute remembers emphasized her “spectacular jump.” The next time he saw her, at YAGP finals that same year, he offered her a Ballet West II contract. Addison declined, having already accepted a spot at Houston Ballet.
Sklute kept his eye on the young dancer. Four years later, he and Houston Ballet artistic director Stanton Welch discussed the possibility of recruiting Addison to Ballet West. Addison, simultaneously in search of new opportunities and considering Ballet West of her own accord, joined the company soon after.
“She just has a very intelligent approach to classical ballet and dance in general,” Sklute says. “She’s deeply thoughtful—in fact, at times, too thoughtful. I’ve often had to pull her out of her head and say, ‘No, you just do. Trust in your technique, trust in your artistry.’ ”
Addison, too, will admit she’s a thinker, and—at times over the course of her career—her confidence has been hard-won. As she’s steadily climbed the ranks, trying her hand at more and more prestigious roles, learning to have faith in her own abilities has been an incremental process.
During the fall and winter of the 2019–20 season, Addison guested with Scottish Ballet, performing a variety of principal and soloist roles, including Tituba, in Helen Pickett’s The Crucible, and the title role in Christopher Hampson’s Snow Queen. The opportunity to dance in Scotland came about organically, Addison says, when she expressed her desire to perform with the company during its 2019 visit to Utah for Ballet West’s Choreographic Festival. “They saw my potential and wanted to push me to another level,” she says. “It helped my confidence and helped me realize ‘Okay Kat, you’re good. You’re an okay dancer.’ ”
A Leading Artist
On April 9, 2021, Sklute promoted Addison to principal. Her promotion—alongside that of fellow Ballet West dancer Hadriel Diniz—made the two artists the first to receive principal promotions at the company since 2018.
“Her hard work has always shone through, her love of the art form has never wavered. And then, her technique just grows and grows and grows,” Sklute says, specifically mentioning Addison’s jumps and lithe, expressive arms and upper body. “She’s also blessed with a really deep theatricality and musicality. All of these things have been there but continued to grow and build, and I think that’s what has made her the leading artist she is today.”
In 2022, Addison made her debut as Juliet, her first principal role in a full-length ballet at the company. At the time, though, wearing masks onstage was still part of the Ballet West’s performance protocol due to COVID-19, making it necessary for Addison to think outside the box and stretch her artistry even further. “That was a learning experience, because I had to express myself without my face,” she says. “With Juliet, I had to learn how to use my body in different ways.”
Additionally, Addison was the first Black ballerina in company history to perform this role. “She really does feel a responsibility to show little girls that look like her what you can achieve,” says Adrian Fry, a fellow Ballet West principal and Addison’s frequent onstage partner. “I think she really holds that responsibility well, and she does it with a lot of dignity.”
Offstage, too, Addison is committed to racial equity and supporting young dancers from all backgrounds. In addition to teaching in the community, she is a member of the board of directors of the Utah Black Artist Collective and is active with Curly Me, a community resource for Black girls ages 5 through 14.
“Being able to be the first is something that’s heavy, but I’m glad Ballet West is wanting to honor me and show the rest of the ballet world that race doesn’t matter,” she says. “It’s my technique, my quality of movement, and myself as an artist that makes me at the level where I would be promoted to principal.”
Choreographing Her Future
In July, Addison celebrated her wedding in Canada, followed by a honeymoon trip to Greece. When asked about her husband, Dustin Selin, a master sergeant in the Air Force, Addison glows. “I just got married to my best friend,” she says.
Now that she’s back in Salt Lake City, Addison is also back to work, building her burgeoning choreography career before Ballet West’s season kicks off. Addison started choreographing in 2019, and she’s set the ambitious goal of making at least one new work each year, with hopes of creating a full-length soon. Thus far, she’s choreographed for Kansas City Ballet, Ballet Jörgen, and Ballet West, to name a few. This summer, Addison took part in MoBBallet’s Pathways to Performance Choreographic Program, receiving mentorship from William Forsythe, Donald Byrd, and Robert Binet.
“That is part of my downtime—creating work or trying to create opportunities to choreograph,” she says.
While Addison is not planning on hanging up her pointe shoes anytime soon, she says she’d love to become a resident choreographer or an artistic director someday. To these new roles, she’ll surely bring her kind heart, intellect, and humility, just as she has each step of the way thus far.
