Richard Marsden

SBRI Artistic Advisor

Richard Marsden made his onstage debut at the early age of six.  He acquired his early training under the tutelage of his parents at the Brae Crest School of Classical Ballet in Lincoln, RI.  At the age of 12, he was awarded a scholarship to the prestigious School of American Ballet in New York. He attained a year-round full scholarship when he was fifteen years of age.  Three years later, Richard joined the New York City Ballet.  Richard danced the Repertory of George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins and Peter Martins, and was met with a unanimous wave of adulation from the critics.  In 1988, he made his debut as the Cavalier in Balanchine’s “Nutcracker.”  He was also featured in Martin’s “Les Petits Riens,” “Les Gentilhommes,” “Black and White,” and as Blue Bird in “The Sleeping Beauty.”  Additionally, Richard performed extensively in the repertory of Jerome Robbins, including “Fanfare,” “Glass Pieces,” “The Four Seasons,” “West Side Story Suite,” “Goldberg Variations,” “Ives Songs,” “I’m Old Fashioned,” “The Concert,”
and “Brandenburg.”

In performance, he was also featured as an American Star during a two week tour to Russia, where Richard received standing ovations at every performance in the 6,000 seat Kremlin Palace Theater in Moscow.

Most recently, Richard’s performances with the Sacramento Ballet garnered him his most outstanding praise to date; “Ballet lover’s who saw Richard Marsden’s scintillating performance of the tortured Hamlet during Thursday’s opening night performance of the Sacramento
Ballet’s ‘Hamlet, Hemlines and More’ program now realize how lucky we are” (Patricia Beech Smith, Sacramento Bee).

Currently exemplifying a history of excellence, Richard is faculty member and master coach at Ballet Arts Center for Dance, continuing the legacy of his godfather Sir Anton Dolin.