orig. Roberta Sue Ficker
born Aug. 16, 1945, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
U.S. ballet dancer.
She trained at the School of American Ballet and joined the New York City Ballet (NYCB) at age 16, becoming a soloist at age 18. George Balanchine created roles for her in ballets such as Meditation , Don Quixote , and Slaughter on Tenth Avenue . After several years as principal dancer with Maurice Béjart 's Ballet of the 20th Century (197075), she returned to the NYCB in 1975 as principal dancer. There she continued to create leading roles until she retired in 1989 and joined the faculty of the School of American Ballet, on which she served until 1993. She later formed her own company, which carried on the Balanchine tradition.