 After graduating, she joined the New York City Ballet in 1953 at the age of 15, and was promoted to principal in 1957.Many roles in George Balanchine's ballets were created for her, including "Seven Deadly Sins", "Ivesiana" and "Bugaku".She danced the role of Dewdrop in the 1958 Playhouse 90 telecast of Balanchine's version of "The Nutcracker".