The Essentials With ABT’s Isabella Boylston: Book Club, Dior Lip Oil and Swan Lake

For the past decade, Isabella Boylston has held the highest rank of principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. The New York City-based company is one of the most prestigious in the world, and Boylston has danced every leading role at ABT—from the classic Odette/Odile in Swan Lake to Clara in the annual holiday favorite, The Nutcracker—on stage at the Metropolitan Opera House and abroad. “ABT was always my dream company,” Boylston tells Observer as she prepares for a full day of rehearsals on a recent fall day. “I grew up watching dancers like Mikhail Baryshnikov, Paloma Herrera and Gillian Murphy, so that was always my goal.” 

The Idaho native began pursuing that goal at a young age, moving to Florida for her training as a teen before earning a spot at ABT’s Studio Company in 2005. Two years later, she was promoted to the main company, working her way through the ranks in quick succession as she took on some of ballet’s most challenging roles. “Swan Lake was huge for me; I had just been promoted to soloist at the time,” she says of the milestone career moment. “It’s such an iconic role to get to do Odette/Odile. It’s one of the biggest technical challenges for a ballerina, and it’s also a dramatic challenge because you have to play two completely different characters in the same performance,” she explains of the dual role, which she still dances at ABT each summer. More recently, Boylston checked another goal off her list when she performed as a guest artist with the Paris Opera Ballet shortly before the pandemic. “That was such a dream come true because they rarely invite guests, and I got to perform Don Quixote on Christmas Eve in Paris,” she says. “It was just so exciting and magical—and also terrifying.” 

But Boylston isn’t out of rewarding career moments. When ABT begins its fall season at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater later this month, she’ll be debuting in a new piece by Gemma Bond, La Boutique. “When I first started getting principal roles, it was just like an avalanche of new roles. But now that I’ve been at ABT for a long time, that has obviously tapered off, so it’s exciting when I get to be a part of a new creation like this,” Boylston says. “And then I’m also doing this ballet called Neo by Alexei Ratmansky, which was [created for] me and James Whiteside during the pandemic,” she adds. “We made it during Covid for filming, so we did it with lots of starting and stopping. This is the first time we’re performing it live, and It’s nine minutes of the craziest, most intricate technique—and it’s fast,” she says with a laugh. “I think it’s going to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my career.” 

Off stage, Boylston has built a following that goes beyond the world of ballet, leveraging social media to partner with brands like Valentino and Bulgari, sit front row at fashion week and host a monthly book club, aptly titled Ballerina Book Club. (Of course, there is plenty of behind-the-scenes ballet content, too.) “I wanted to connect with people in a way that wasn’t ballet, and I’ve always loved reading,” Boylston says. “I’ll read anything and everything, but my favorite genre is fantasy and science fiction,” she continues, noting that past selections have included Hernan Diaz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Trust and Jessamine Chan’s debut novel The School for Good Mothers. “It’s been really fun, and also, I think it’s good to enjoy your life outside of ballet. Sometimes as artists, we try so hard to be great, but you can really get in your own way and take away that feeling of improvisation or play that is the thing that you loved about ballet when you were a kid,” she shares. “That’s something I try to work on.”

Ahead of American Ballet Theatre’s fall season, which begins October 16 and runs through November 3, Observer caught up with Boylston for all of her current essentials, from her pre-performance pasta to the Idaho ranch she retreats to for some rest and relaxation.

Daily beauty routine: 

In the morning, I just rinse my face with water. I love this new serum from Gucci Westman’s line, Westman Atelier, and then I use a gel moisturizer from Kinship. It’s always a challenge to find a mineral sunscreen that doesn’t give you a white cast, but this Best Skin Days sunscreen from Iris and Romeo also works like a foundation. The Dior Lip Oil is my must-have for rehearsal because it isn’t sticky, and it gives a nice pop of color on days when I don’t have time for makeup. It also helps to have some blush when I’m staring at myself in the mirror all day and rehearsing under fluorescent lights, and I love this dewy one from Neen. After long rehearsal and performance days, I’m so exhausted and keep my skincare routine minimal. I use this Estée Lauder eye cream, which is incredible, and when I need extra hydration, I slather on the Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask before I go to sleep.

What she’s reading:

I’m currently reading Wolf Hall, which is so good! It’s about Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, and it’s just such an amazingly well-written book.

What she’s binge-watching:

I need a new show, actually; I’m taking recommendations. But I loved the newest season of House of the Dragon, and I also recently watched Love Is Blind: Sweden. My mom is Swedish, so that was a good way for me to brush up on my Swedish. 

Pre-performance routine: 

I’ll wake up around 8 a.m., have breakfast and try to spend a little bit of time relaxing by either hanging out with my cat or writing in my journal. Then, I’ll go and take class, which is our daily ritual every day—we take ballet class to get our minds and bodies in tune and work on our technique and strength. After that, I’ll rehearse for about 30 minutes, just to sort of connect with my partner and go through any tricky spots. I’ll usually eat pasta; sometimes I’ll go to Fiorello’s across the street and get takeout, and then I’ll take a nap. I always have coffee and a banana when I wake up, and then I go and get into hair and makeup. I love the quiet time before the show, when the stage is empty and the curtain is open and there’s no one else on stage. I like to go out there with my headphones on, listening to music and just feeling the space and visualizing how I want to feel when the curtain goes up. And then it’s show time!

Favorite vacation spot:

My favorite place to go is probably Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch in Stanley, Idaho. It’s about an hour away from where I grew up, and it’s this gorgeous ranch in the mountains that is so relaxing. They have a natural hot spring pool that you can soak in at night under the stars, and then my husband [Daniel Shin] and I love hiking.

What she’s traveling with:

I have a Tumi suitcase, and I always overpack, which is a very frustrating habit. It’s hard when we go on tour for performances because you need twice as much stuff, and I’ll be towing tutus and pointe shoes. I definitely pack a good book, a La Ligne sweater because it’s always colder than you think on the plane, and a pair of pointe shoes, which is lame.

New York favorites:

My favorite coffee shop is IXV Coffee in Boerum Hill; it’s waste-free, so no plastic. They make the best grilled cheese sandwiches with farmer’s market veggies and pickles. Another coffee shop that I love is Abraço in the East Village—they have the best iced latte, ever. Restaurant-wise, I love pasta, so Bar Pitti is always fun. I also love French Louie, which is an excellent little French place that’s also in Boerum Hill.

The one thing in her wardrobe she refuses to part with:

I’m ruthless with getting rid of clothes and shoes, but I keep all of my jewelry. I still have the first necklace I ever received, a tiny gold locket from my parents. More recently, I got the Bulgari Tubogas necklace after choreographing a dance performance for the collection’s launch, and it’s something I treasure.