Martine van Hamel

Martine van Hamel (born 16 November 1945) is a Dutch choreographer, director, teacher, retired ballerina and former Principal dancer at the National Ballet of Canada and American Ballet Theatre (ABT). She was a gold medalist at the biennial Varna International Ballet Competition, the most prestigious ballet competition in the world, held in Varna, Bulgaria. She is also a recipient of the Prix de Varna, an award rarely handed out, for best artistic interpretation in all categories. As a dancer, she was one of the leading classical ballerinas in America.

Van Hamel studied classical ballet in Denmark, the Netherlands, Indonesia, and Venezuela. She eventually went on to train at Canada's National Ballet School before joining the professional dance company, the National Ballet of Canada. She danced briefly with the Joffrey Ballet, then known as the City Center Joffrey Ballet, before joining ABT in 1970, one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. She co-founded the New Amsterdam Ballet with Kevin McKenzie which toured and performed during the ABT off-season. Van Hamel left ABT in 1992 to dance with the Nederlands Dans Theater III until 1997.

Van Hamel was the recipient of the Cue Magazine award for outstanding dancer in 1976, the Dance Magazine Award in 1983, the Dance Educators of America's award in July 1989, and the Award for Excellence from Washington College in 1992. She has taught at the Juilliard School, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School and co-founded the Kaatsbaan International Dance Center.

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