Ilse Kapteyn

Ilse Kapteyn grew up in western Massachusetts and trained with Irina Vakhromeeva and Ruth and Noble Barker. She spent summers at the School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theater NY, and the Chautauqua Institution. She graduated from Deerfield Academy and also spent a year at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography (Bolshoi Ballet Academy) before joining New Jersey Ballet in 2012.
Since joining New Jersey Ballet Ms. Kapetyn has performed leading roles including Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen in Nutcracker, Myrtha in Giselle, Mercedes in Don Quixote. Ms. Kapetyn has originated roles in Jackson Ferreira’s About Happiness, Pedro Ruiz Estancia, and Harrison Ball’s Purcell Suite. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Maria Kowroski Ms. Kapteyn has been featured in Christopher Wheeldon's After the Rain and George Balanchine's Who Cares?. She has guested as Swanhilda in Coppelia and Kitri in Don Quixote.
Ms. Kapteyn is a faculty member and teacher at the New Jersey Ballet School and is a certified instructor of BodyCode System, which helps improve body awareness and function.

Photo credit
Headshot: Irina Leoni