National Ballet of China
Zhu Yan started dancing ballet when she was nine. After graduating from the Beijing Dance Academy in 1995, she joined the National Ballet of China where she became a principal dancer in 2004. As of 2013, she is the company's leading prima ballerina. She has created leading roles in most of the classical ballets including "Swan Lake", "Don Quixote", "The Sleeping Beauty" and "Giselle". She has also danced in the contemporary works "The Rite of Spring", "Four Last Songs" and "Études" as well as in many of the ballets choreographed by Georges Balanchine.