If mothers are forged through physical labor and ballerinas through decades of training, a woman who is both is a particular kind of force. That certainly seems to be the case for Isabella Boylston, a principal with American Ballet Theatre, who is due in June.
“Becoming a mom is so abstract until you are one,” she tells me over the phone in late March. The 39-year-old had just finished lunch after spending the first part of the day teaching, a recent addition to her ABT work schedule that replaces the hours she would have spent rehearsing for the Spring 2026 season. “I still feel like I can’t totally conceptualize what it’s going to be like, but I definitely want to continue dancing for many years," she says. Like any woman, there’s a see-how-you-feel element to when she’ll be back to firing on all cylinders, but there’s no doubt in her mind that she’ll return to the stage. (Her best guess: this year’s Nutcracker season.)
“I have a vision of myself with my baby strapped in a Baby Bjorn while I’m doing barre,” she laughs, the vision capturing a balletic version of working motherhood. “I’d love to fit my kid into my life as much as possible, [though] I'm sure there are a ton of compromises.” A strong relationship with her financier-husband Daniel Shin—“he’s such a solid partner”—should make the transition feel easier, especially if he turns out to be the father she’s expecting. “I see how he is with our cat, and he is the best cat dad. I know it’s different, but I think he’ll be the best dad.”
