The Dirt with Danielle Rowe

Danielle Rowe and Simon Ball in Christopher Wheeldon’s Rush. By Amitava Sarkar

Up until last year, U.S. ballet fans were only treated to the occasional glimpse of raven-haired ballerina Danielle Rowe, who was a member of The Australian Ballet for a decade. But those glimpses—during her freelance tours with Morphoses, then under the direction of Christopher Wheeldon—left quite the impression: Those endless legs! That effortless fluidity! Now, luckily for us, the native Aussie has come stateside as a principal at Houston Ballet. (Her longtime boyfriend, dancer Luke Ingham, moved with her to HB.) Rowe has already made her mark on the Texas company, wowing in Wheeldon’s Rush and as Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. Catch her this month in Cinderella—and read on for The Dirt!

What did you want to be when you were a teen?

I have always dreamed of being a ballerina. I can’t really remember a time when ballet has not been a part of my life.

Most-played song on your iPod:

“Dog Days Are Over” by Florence and the Machine.

Must-see TV show:

Damages.

Biggest guilty pleasure:

Trashy reality TV shows.

One thing most people don’t know about you:

I used to run long distance as a child. I would love to get back into it when I finish dancing and work toward running marathons.

If you weren’t a dancer, what would you be?

An actress.

One thing you can’t live without:

Laughter.

Favorite city in the world:

Paris.

Who is your dance crush?

Roberto Bolle.