associate artistic director
 Patricia McBride is celebrated as an outstanding American ballerina of our day and a star of international stature. Her remarkable virtuosity and artistic range have been demonstrated in more than one hundred ballets in the New York City Ballet.
In 1959, McBride became a company member of the New York City Ballet under the direction of George Balanchine. By 1961, she had become the youngest principal dancer in the New York City Ballet. McBride’s career spanned more than three decades and provided audiences with dazzling performances of some of the world’s greatest masterpieces.
McBride was catapulted to even greater fame when George Balanchine chose her to dance with principal dancer Edward Villella. The pair quickly became one of the most famous partnerships of that era. Newsday wrote: it was “their joy and vibrancy, their speed, their great good looks…sometimes they seemed to be all leaps and teeth.” They were so popular they were invited to dance on “Bell Telephone Hour” and “The Ed Sullivan Show.” She has performed for presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Carter and Reagan.
She has worked with some of ballet’s "greats" including George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Andre Eglevsky, Rudolph Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Peter Martins. In 1973, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride were married. Together they have made numerous guest appearances throughout the world including Paris, France, Tokyo, Japan and New York City. She brings a wealth of experience in performing and training dancers to North Carolina Dance Theatre’s company members as well as to the students of North Carolina Dance Theatre School of Dance.
Hometown: Teaneck, New Jersey
Seasons with NC Dance Theatre: 12
Seasons with New York City Ballet: 32
Idols: George Balanchine, Albert Schweitzer
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