Viola Pantuso

American dancer Viola Pantuso joined The Royal Ballet’s Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Programme in the 2021/2022 Season and entered the Company as an Artist in the 2022/23 Season. 

Pantuso was born in Chicago, Illinois and began her ballet studies at the age of three. Her early training took place at the Joffrey Academy of Dance and at The Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program in New York City. During her time in New York she attended the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) and was awarded the silver prize in the NYC Finals. In 2017 she joined The Royal Ballet School at White Lodge. During her time at the Upper School she was awarded First Prize in the Lynn Seymour Competition for Expressive Dance and in 2021 graduated from The Royal Ballet School. 

Performances while a student included The Joffrey Ballet’s La Bayadère, Othello and The Nutcracker and American Ballet Theatre's production of Le Corsaire. While at The Royal Ballet School, she performed the main role in Elite Syncopations and danced in Ashley Page’s Mephisto Waltz for her graduation performance. She also performed in Liam Scarlett’s The Cunning Little Vixen at the Royal Opera House and in Didy Veldman’s Is To Be in the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne, Switzerland. 

In the Company, she has had roles in Mayerling and Everyone Keeps Me. She created a role in Wayne McGregor's Untitled, 2023.