April Daly
A native of Rockford, Illinois, April Daly trained with the Rockford Dance Company before attending the New School University/Joffrey Ballet BFA program in New York. She danced with The Washington Ballet for two seasons before joining The Joffrey Ballet in 2003, where she performed until retiring in 2022.
At the Joffrey, April performed lead roles in Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, La Bayadère, Giselle, Cinderella, The Merry Widow, and The Nutcracker. She also danced in works by renowned choreographers like Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine, Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne McGregor, and William Forsythe.
Since retiring, April has been teaching and coaching ballet in Chicago. She is the Owner/Director of Blanco Ballet Academy, an elite classical ballet training program emphasizing passion, precision, and artistry. In 2009, she was featured as Dance Magazine’s On the Rise.