Houston Ballet Principal Tyler Donatelli Is Both Powerful and Poetic
During the debut of Stereo is King at Houston Ballet last March, you could almost hear the banter between choreographer Stanton Welch, AM (Member of the Order of Australia), and newly appointed principal Tyler Donatelli. With her swinging blond ponytail, Donatelli anchored the action; not only did she keep up with Mason Bates’ relentless score, it was as if she was in the band, stirring up the air and making the whole ballet come to life.
“Choreographically, I am inspired by her,” says Welch, Houston Ballet’s artistic director. Since joining the company in December 2014, Donatelli, who was promoted to principal last December, has danced in nearly all of his new creations, with increasingly larger roles. “She is someone who can really hear music and make her body dance to sound.”
Donatelli has spent her entire career at Houston Ballet. Known for her kinetic energy, razor-sharp turns, and spectacularly buoyant jumps, she’s further grounded by theatrical authenticity and a sheer love of dancing. “She’s fearless and tender, powerful and poetic, and a consummate professional,” says Julie Kent, Houston Ballet’s other artistic director, who’s coached her in major roles like Myrtha in Giselle and George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations. “She’s always open to exploring new ideas and appreciative of feedback.”
As Donatelli heads into her first full season as a principal dancer, her next wave of momentum is just beginning to build.
Early Days
Originally from Huntington Beach, California, Donatelli started dancing as a toddler, and was all in from the get-go. By age 5, she says, she was fully committed and ready to skip a lot of birthday parties for ballet.
She trained for over a decade at Southland Ballet Academy in Orange County, a studio that exposed her to an international faculty. “All of my teachers were rooted in Vaganova [technique], but all had their flairs,” says Donatelli. “Studio etiquette was huge—even hallway etiquette was important.”
Southland’s artistic director, Salwa Rizkalla, had confidence in Donatelli’s career potential. “Tyler was a dream student,” Rizkalla says. “Her perseverance, artistic skills, enthusiasm, excellent attention to detail, and positive attitude made it certain that she would succeed in the dance world.”
Between ages 12 and 15, Donatelli participated in ballet competitions, like Youth America Grand Prix. She found competing critical to her success. “It helped with motivation, discipline, gathering performance experience, and dealing with pressure,” she says.
It also set her on her journey towards Houston. At age 13, she won a scholarship through YAGP to attend Houston Ballet Academy’s summer intensive. Welch noticed her shortly afterward while judging the 2012 Music Center Spotlight Awards in Los Angeles, where she won first prize. “She was so young, brave, and musical,” recalls Welch. “From there, we started the conversation that led to her joining Houston Ballet II.”
A Home in Houston
Donatelli joined HB II the following year at age 16. Her time in the second company proved pivotal. “I had to finish my last three years of high school alone, figure out cooking, schedules, and take care of myself as a teenager,” she says. “When I slacked off in certain areas, I learned quickly what was and wasn’t going to work.” She credits her HB II teachers, Sabrina Lenzi and Claudio Muñoz, with guiding her towards success.
She joined the company as an apprentice at 18, and the corps the following year. “There wasn’t any kind of slow start,” recalls Welch. “She moved into advanced repertoire right away.” In the spring of 2017, her second year in the corps, Donatelli was cast in Justin Peck’s Year of the Rabbit, which she took as a sign that she was being noticed. “I felt like it gave me a little sprinkle to push me to demi-soloist.” Sure enough, she was promoted shortly afterwards.
A few months later, Welch promoted her again to soloist—a title that came with additional pressure. “I felt that I had to step up or it would all slip away,” Donatelli recalls. “Being a soloist was a landing pad; I had a lot of growth, and a lot of questions. Who do I want to be? What do I need to do to move forward? Will I stay a soloist forever?”
Pushing Beyond Limits
Donatelli’s collaborative relationship with Welch is one reason why she thrived and stayed put. She’s danced in everything from his neoclassical favorites, like Tapestry, to full-lengths, like Cinderella and Sylvia. But their connection is a kinetic one; both have a shared affection for going bigger, higher, and more complicated.
“As a choreographer, I’m exploring things I haven’t tested before,” Welch says. “She’s one of those dancers who can go to that place. She’s not frightened to try what seems impossible.”
Donatelli, who moved up to first soloist in 2022, smiles when she discusses Welch’s creation process. “Stanton pushes me to do things I never thought I could do. We go back and forth, building the choreography.”
Other choreographers have also fueled her growth. She lights up at the mention of George Balanchine, naming the leads in “Rubies,” Stars and Stripes, and Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux as favorite roles. “His work pushes me to be a better technician because it’s so fast,” she says. “It takes me on a tough journey testing all my limits.”
She demonstrated her dynamic range in Dwight Rhoden’s The Lightning Round, pounding out his extreme movement choices with the energy of a superhero. And she feels an affinity for Justin Peck’s choreography, having danced in his two creations for Houston Ballet, Reflections and Under the Folding Sky. “His work feels so different from classical ballet, it’s so natural,” she says. “Taking his ideas and putting them in your body feels right, when you get it.”
Beyond Technique
Donatelli brings more than technical fireworks to her dancing; she is also theatrical, filling out a role’s emotional tonality as much as she fills out the movement. For two roles in particular, Olga from Onegin and the bookworm-shy Cinderella, she researched her characters while simultaneously tapping her own life experiences. “Each required me to draw on something deeply personal,” she says. “There’s a real vulnerability in allowing yourself to be open and share something genuine, and then trusting the audience to interpret and connect with it in their own way.”
First soloist Eric Best, who is often paired with Donatelli, credits her with helping him learn how to partner both physically and theatrically. “She makes it easy because she is so strong and knows her body so well,” says Best. For the ballet Sylvia, Best recalls the emotional negotiations they went through to create a vibrant relationship between Eros (a god) and Psyche (a mortal), which involved as much talking as rehearsing. “I can be so comfortable dancing with her.”
Welch and Kent promoted Donatelli to principal onstage after a virtuosic performance with Best in Balanchine’s Theme and Variations last December. The role, one of the most difficult she’s ever performed, expanded her skill set. (“The adagio let me show a softer side of myself,” she says.) But she was surprised by the announcement. “I had no expectation to make principal.”
Welch knew it was time. “Tyler had built her career solidly at each level,” he says, likening her artistic development as growing from a seed to a flower. “She’s fully invested in everything she does.”
Body and Mind
As much as Donatelli is devoted to her profession, she enjoys life outside of the studio, which involves her favorite hobbies: interior design, party planning, and spending time with her two dogs, Tangie and Apollo.
She is also curious about anatomy and biomechanics. She regularly practices Gyrotonic and feels the difference in her dancing. “I did not have the usual body aesthetics for ballet—as in hyperextended legs, arches, turnout—so that led me to want to learn more about how my body works,” she says. “Gyro makes me feel meditative, confident, and more aligned with less force. If something feels weak, I think: What do I need to do here to address it?”
Meanwhile, Donatelli’s dance card is full as she prepares for new roles this fall. The next big project is the title role in Welch’s new full-length immersive ballet, Where’s Alice?, a modern-day take on Alice in Wonderland. “It’s a perfect vehicle for her talent—it’s brave and adventurous,” says Welch, who has also cast her as the bride in his Rite of Spring next May. He could see other ballets in her future, too, such as La Fille mal gardée and Don Quixote. “She’s still evolving and growing.”
Her strategy, in the meantime, is to be fully present. “I keep my mind open, be in the moment, not get ahead of the stager, don’t plan it out too much.” Still, she says, she’s excited to dig in. “I want to put my stamp on everything!”
