Valerie Robin

Valerie Robin joined The Joffrey Ballet in July 2000. Born in St. Jerome, Canada and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she began her ballet training as an apprentice with the Tulsa Ballet Theatre, became a corps member, and danced with the company for two years. Ms. Robin then joined the Milwaukee Ballet, under the direction of Basil Thompson. She was also a soloist with the Leipziger Ballett in Leipzig, Germany, where she worked with choreographer/director Uwe Scholz. Ms. Robin spent one year with the Keiler Ballett dancing modern works before returning to the states as a principal dancer for Ballet Wisconsin.

In 1990, Ms. Robin won a bronze medal at the New York International Ballet Competition. In 1992, she competed in the Varna International Ballet Competition and became one of the first American dancers to reach the final round in ten years.

During her time with The Joffrey, Ms. Robin has performed in many ballets, including Apollo, Giselle, Italian Suite, Les Noces, Les Patinuers, Light Rain, Montones II, The Nutcracker, Pas Des Deesses, Reflections, Return to a Strange Land, Romeo & Juliet, Le Sacre Du Printemps, Suite Saint Saëns, The Taming of the Shrew, Viva Vivaldi, and A Wedding Bouquet, In the Night, After the Rain, Othello, Cinderella, PRETTY Ballet, Crossed, and Stravinsky Violin Concerto.

Ms. Robin enjoys cooking and reading in her free time. She is married to former Joffrey dancer Samuel Pergande, and they have two wonderful dogs – Maggie and Tyler.