Soloist
Budapest, Hungary
Joined Boston Ballet in 2002
Szabolcs (Sabi) Varga received his training at the Hungarian Dance Academy in Budapest, Hungary. In 1997 he was named “Best Young Dancer” at the International Rudolf Nureyev Competition. Upon graduation he joined Alberta Ballet under the direction of Mikko Nissinen. There he performed principal roles in works by George Balanchine, Helgi Tomasson, and Christopher Wheeldon. In 2002 Nissinen invited Varga to join Boston Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet. He was promoted to second soloist in 2004 and to soloist in 2006.
His repertoire with the Company includes Mikko Nissinen’s Swan Lake (von Rothbart) and The Nutcracker (all principal male roles), Rudi van Dantzig’s Romeo and Juliet (Romeo), Rudolf Nureyev’s Don Quixote (Espada), Val Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias (Gustave), Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, and Lambarena, Marius Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty, John Cranko’s The Taming of the Shrew (Lucentio), Jorma Elo’s Plan to B, Carmen (Escamillo), In on Blue, Le Sacre du Printemps, George Balanchine’s Duo Concertant and Serenade, Helen Pickett’s Etesian, Lucinda Childs’ Ten Part Suite, Mark Morris’ Up and Down, David Dawson’s The Grey Area, James Kudelka’s Cinderella, Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée, and Jiří Kylián’s Sarabande.
Varga is married to former Boston Ballet soloist Melanie Atkins, who is currently Children’s Ballet Mistress and faculty member with Boston Ballet School.
