Amar Ramasar

Amar Ramasar (born December 9, 1981) is an American ballet dancer and former principal dancer of the New York City Ballet (NYCB). Ramasar joined the NYCB as an apprentice in 2000 and joined the corps de ballet in 2001. As of 2010, Ramasar remained the only person of color who was a principal in NYCB.

In 2018, Ramasar was fired from NYCB for sharing explicit pictures of female dancers without their knowledge or consent. In 2019, he made his debut at the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome. That same year, a union arbitrator ruled that, while suspension from NYCB was fitting, his firing was too severe a punishment. As a result, the arbitrator ordered Ramasar to be reinstated by the NYCB. In July 2021, the NYCB announced that Ramasar was retiring in May 2022.

Education and early career Amar Ramasar was born in the Bronx, New York City. His father, who is of Indo-Trinidadian descent, is a former United States Marine who worked as a computer technician while Ramasar was growing up.

NYC Ballet Ramasar joined the New York City Ballet as an apprentice in 2000, and joined the corps de ballet in 2001. Martins cast him in role of the Cavalier in The Nutcracker in 2001. Ramasar's father watched him dance for the first time in this role. "I think then he understood," Ramasar said. and was promoted to a principal in October 2009.

, it was reported that Ramasar was the only person of color who is a principal in NYCB. He was quoted as saying:

In 2006, he was named one of "25 to Watch" by Dance Magazine.

In 2007, Dance Spirit wrote that "Amar Ramasar looked too nice to be a villain" in Romeo and Juliet.

Ballet.co.uk, a British online magazine, raved in 2008 about Ramasar, even while criticizing a new dance in which he performed. Their critic had "the pleasure of watching Joaquín De Luz, Tyler Angle, and Amar Ramasar dance together, truly convincing as three good sailor buddies." The official review from the Times Union wrote that Fancy Free, "Played with ample swagger by Tyler Angle, Joaquín De Luz and Amar Ramasar ... set the bravura tone for the entire night." In May 2010, TheArtsDesk.com noted that "the spectacularly bare-chested Amar Ramasar" had sex appeal.

Personal life Ramasar began dating Elysia Dawn Fridkin (also known as Elysia Dawn) in 2009, and they married in October 2011. She was formerly a dancer with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, artistic director of the Columbia University Ballet Collaborative, and is currently a Program Associate for MetLiveArts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.