Edra Toth

Edra Toth was born in Budapest, Hungary and left with her family at the age of four during the Hungarian uprising in 1956 and came to Boston. She became the protégé of E. Virginia Williams, the founder of Boston Ballet, at the age of 13, dancing in Les Sylphides. She was promoted to Principal Dancer within two short years, and became a national star at the age of 16, dancing the lead in Giselle opposite Ivan Nagy in less than a weeks? notice. She was the Prima Ballerina and leading star for the Boston Ballet for over 10 years, dancing with some of the world's leading male dancers such as Rudolf Nureyev, Ivan Nagy, Samuel Kurkjian, Edward Villella, and Woytek Lowski.

While at Boston Ballet, she danced every ballerina role including Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Cinderella, Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Carmen, Swanhilda in Coppélia, and Swan Queen in Swan Lake. Her Balanchine repertory includes the Sylph in Scotch Symphony, 2nd Movement in Symphony in C, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Allegro Brilliante, Terpsichore in Apollo, Liberty Bell in Stars and Stripes, Tarantella, Serenade, Concerto Barocco, Pas de Dix in Donizetti Variations, and Vase Fantasia. She has also danced the role of the Cowgirl in Rodeo, Le Corsaire Pas de Deux, Arietta, Sea Alliance, and many original works in Boston Ballet?s annual Choreography Showcase Competitions.

Miss Toth also danced at Boston?s Symphony Hall with the Boston Symphony under the direction of the great maestro Arthur Fielder which was filmed and aired nationally on PBS. As a guest artist, Miss Toth has danced internationally and created the role of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet for the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. She also studied the Bournonville technique in Denmark for four years with Adel Pederson and Fleming Rydberg. Miss Toth has also been Principal dancer with the Boston Repertory Ballet and danced the role of Titania in A Midsummer Night?s Dream, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker with the North Atlantic Ballet. Miss Toth has appeared with the Boston Dance Company in Ruth St. Denis? Incense, James Reardon?s Trauermusik and Verdi Variations.

Miss Toth?s own choreography includes Magic Mountain, Seamus? Quest, Dracula, The Pirate and the Gypsy, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and Snow White. Her dedication to the art of ballet lead her to open her own ballet school in 1973 while at the apex of her career. This school has evolved into that which is now Northeastern Ballet Theatre. Miss Toth was asked by Governor Lynch of New Hampshire to join the Governor?s Council on the Arts, and is a former member. She continues to inspire the young dancers of today through her passion and dedication to passing on the classical traditions of ballet. For more information on Miss Toth's Boston Ballet career, please click here and here.