Charles Askegard joined American Ballet Theatre (ABT) in 1987 under the direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov. He performed with ABT for ten years, performing many lead roles in both full-length and repertory ballets including Swan Lake, Giselle, La Bayadere, and Romeo and Juliet, and working with legendary choreographers Agnes de Mille, Twyla Tharp, Natalia Makarova, Lar Lubovitch, and Glen Tetley. In 1997 he joined the New York City Ballet where he performed for fourteen years as a Principal Dancer. His repertoire at NYCB included many Balanchine ballets including Diamonds from Balanchine’s full length Jewels, Stars and Stripes, Theme and Variations, and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux. In addition, he has had the honor of working with Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, Eliot Feld, Christopher Wheeldon, and Helgi Tommason. After leaving the New York City Ballet, he co-founded “Ballet Next,” a company for which he choreographed, performed and directed until 2013. Before becoming Ballet Master for Pennsylvania Ballet, he taught at Ballet Academy East as well as the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive, has been a guest teacher across the nation, and is a frequent judge for the Youth America Grand Prix.