Dawn Scannell, Ballet mistress

Dawn Scannell grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and received her training from Victoria Leigh, Ruth Petrinovic, and James Franklin.  She joined Houston Ballet in 1985 and rose to the rank of principal dancer. After retiring in 2001, Ms. Scannell rejoined Houston Ballet as Ballet Mistress in 2006, staging Ben Stevenson’s Don Quixote. Throughout her career, Ms. Scannell’s repertoire has included leading roles with attention to and detail in both classical and contemporary works. From Ben Stevenson’s Swan Lake to Christopher Bruce’s Swan Song, Ms. Scannell has had the privilege of working with many esteemed choreographers such as Sir Kenneth MacMillan, James Kudelka, John McFall, Ronald Hynd, Stanton Welch, Ben Stevenson, Jiří Kylián, Christopher Bruce, Trey McIntyre, Lila York, and Helgi Tomasson.  In December 1999, Ms. Scannell married Nathaniel Nakadate and in 2003 gave birth to a baby boy, Cole Douglas.  She is thrilled to be rejoining the Houston Ballet organization.