Melissa Hamilton

Hamilton has also performed internationally, including Roberto Bolle's Italy tour and Mikhailovsky Ballet’s 85th anniversary in St Petersburg, partnering Bolle.

After Dresden Semperoper Ballett's Jiri Bubenicek suggested to have Hamilton partner him for his farewell performance in Manon, the directors of Royal Ballet and Semperoper Ballett negotiated and agreed to let Hamilton take a leave of absent to join Semperoper Ballett as a principal dancer. She danced with the company during the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons. During her tenure in Dresden, she made several principal role debuts, including Nikiya in La Bayadere, Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty and Odette/Odile in Swan Lake. She returned to The Royal Ballet in the 2017/18 season.

Hamilton was born in Belfast and spent most of her childhood in Dromore, County Down. Her father is a builder and her mother is a pre-school teacher. Her sister is an architect and her brother is a primary school teacher. She started dancing at age four. She attended Dromore Primary School and Banbridge Academy, and left the latter after she finished her GCSEs. Until that point, the only trainings Hamilton had are once-a-week classes. At age 16, she entered Elmhurst Ballet School, where she trained for two years. During her first year, she was told she would not be able to catch up. However, she was taught by Masha Mukhamedov at her second year, When Mukhamedov moved to Athens, Hamilton followed them to train privately with Masha for ten months. In 2007, at age 18, She won the Youth America Grand Prix.

The prize of YAGP is to join ABT II, American Ballet Theatre's second company. However, Hamilton did not want to move to New York, so Mukhamedov contacted Monica Mason, then-artistic director of The Royal Ballet, then Hamilton sent a video of her dancing to Mason. Hamilton was invited to take classes with the company, and was offered a contract to join the company as an Artist within a week after her victory at YAGP. She joined the company in 2007. The following year, she originated a role for Wayne McGregor's Infra, and frequently collaborated with McGregor since. She was soon casted in Kenneth MacMillan's works such as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, the title role in Manon and Mary Vetsera in Mayerling. She was named First Artist in 2009, Soloist the following year and First Soloist in 2013.

Melissa Hamilton (born 2 August 1989) is a Northern Irish ballet dancer and a First Soloist with the Royal Ballet, London.