Paola Hartley

Miss Hartley was born in Bonn, Germany, and grew up in South Africa and Chile, where her parents danced for P.A.C.T. Ballet and Ballet de Santiago. She studied at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with teachers such as Melissa Hayden, Duncan Noble, Gyula Pandi, Dianne Markham, and Trish Casey. In 1993 she joined Ballet de Santiago with Marcia Haydee as her director. In 1997 Ivan Nagy took over the company and Miss Hartley was promoted to soloist after performing the role of Myrtha in "Giselle" with guest artist Igor Zelensky. During her years with Ballet de Santiago, she worked with other guest artists such as Jose Manuel Carreño, Maximiliano Guerra, Carlos Acosta, and Lauren Anderson. She performed leading roles such as Olga in John Cranko's "Eugene Onegin," The Mad Lady in Ben Stevenson's "Peer Gynt," Mercedes in "Don Quijote," The Countess in Ronal Hynd's "The Devil to Pay," and Stella in Mauricio Wainrot's World Premiere of "Streetcar Named Desire". She had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Ronald Hynd, Ben Stevenson, Trey Mc Intyre, David Parsons, and Natalia Makarova. In July of 1998 Miss Hartley was invited to join Ballet Arizona. Since arriving, she has expanded her modern repertoire by working and performing pieces from Kevin O'Day, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, Julia Adams, Moses Pendleton, and Dwight Rhoden. Her leading roles in full length productions include Aurora in "Sleeping Beauty," Odette/Odile in "Swan Lake," Giselle in "Giselle," Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet," Swanilda in "Coppélia," The Sylph in "La Sylphide," and Kitri in "Don Quijote." Her Balanchine repertoire includes principal roles in ballets such as "Theme and Variations," "Agon," "Allegro Brillante," "Apollo," "Serenade," "Four Temperaments," "Divertimento No 15," "Duo Concertante," "Episodes," "Concerto Barroco," "Stravinsky Violin Concerto," and "Rubies." In 2013, Miss Hartley joined The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, where she performed principal roles in George Balanchine's "Pas de Deux," "Episodes," "Agon," "Allegro Brillante," "Swan Lake," and Jerome Robbins's "The Concert." In May of 2015, Miss Hartley retired from Ballet Arizona and is currently teaching throughout Phoenix area. As of 2018, she joined State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara as Ballet Master.