Samantha Riester trained at the School of American Ballet from 2012-2015. She attended summer courses at the School of American Ballet and Miami City Ballet. After graduating from SAB, she joined Cincinnati Ballet’s Second Company and was promoted to their main company in 2017. Samantha has danced soloist roles in repertoire such as Jiří Kylián’s Sechs Tanze, “Pas de Trois” in Swan Lake, “Lady of the Sea” in Val Caniparoli’s Ibsen’s House, “Duet Mabul” in Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16, “Curly Cue” in Septime Weber’s Wizard of Oz, “Beauty Fairy” in Sleeping Beauty, “Summer Fairy” in Cinderella, and in Andrea Schermoly’s Swivet.
Samantha has performed numerous ballets choreographed by George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Henkel Pickett, Ma Cong, Septime Weber, Nicole Fonte, Stephanie Martinez, Adam Hougland, Jennifer Archibald, Garett Smith, Victoria Morgan, Myles Thatcher, and David Morse. She has enjoyed dancing with outside organizations such as the Cincinnati Opera for its 100th anniversary celebration production of Aida, as well as guesting for her home studio in Indiana where she performed principal roles in George Balanchine’s Emeralds and Concerto Barocco.
