“I grew up with boys,” Chloe Misseldine said.
What has being the middle child with two brothers given this striking American Ballet Theater soloist? Not glamour; she was born with that. But a crucial quality for any young ballerina: thick skin.
“Nothing really bothers me,” Misseldine said. “I’m not offended easily. If somebody says something to me, I’ll brush it off.”
Yet over the past week or so, since she made her debut as Tatiana in the ballet “Onegin,” Misseldine has noticed some unusual internal shifts. Tears have flowed. She brought up the word “sensitive” to describe how she’s been feeling, but it’s not quite right. Maybe vulnerable? “I don’t know how to explain it,” she said, “but I just have more emotions.”
Tatiana was big — Misseldine’s first dramatic lead in a full-length ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House, where the company presents its summer season. On Wednesday afternoon, she takes on Odette-Odile in “Swan Lake” after a triumphant debut in the dual role at the Kennedy Center in Washington in January.