Deborah Hadley was born and raised in San Diego and began her studies at the San Diego Ballet under the direction of former San Francisco Ballet Principals Nancy Johnson and Richard Carter.  Continuing on to the rank of principal dancer with the regional company, Ms. Hadley went on to become a charter member of the Joffrey II in 1969.

Taking time off to marry and have two boys, Ms. Hadley returned to her ballet career in 1979 when she joined Pacific Northwest Ballet, where she remained a Principal Dancer for the next thirteen years.  Ms. Hadley’s distinguished performing career also included appearances as a guest artist with the Kozlov and Stars, Godonov and Stars, and in the title role of “Giselle” with Anthony Dowell in addition to many companies across the United States.

Her repertoire has included principal roles in the Balanchine works “Tarantella Pas de Deux”, “Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux”, “Theme and Variations”, “Concerto Barocco”, “Symphony in C”, “Divertimento #15”, “The Four Temperaments”, “Western Symphony”, “Serenade”, “Chaconne”, and “Square Dance” among others.  Her full-length repertoire includes Odette/Odile, Juliet, Giselle, Cinderella, Swanilda in “Coppelia”, “Nutcracker” and “A Midsummer Nights Dream”.  She has appeared in major works of Jerome Robbins (“The Cage”), Anthony Tudor (“Lilac Garden” and “Dark Elegies”), Glen Tetley (“Voluntaries”), Clark Tippet (“Chrysalis Regarding” and “Gigue”), Paul Taylor (“Roses”), Lar Lubovitch (original work), Vicente Nebrada (“Lento”, “a Tempo”, “e Appassionato”) and Val Caniparoli (“Street Songs”), some of which were original choreography created for her.  She appeared in many original works by Kent Stowell, among them “Firebird”, “Orpheus Portrait”, “Delicate Balance”, and most especially, “Romeo and Juliet”.  Her classical repertoire includes “Paquita”, “Don Quixote”, “Le Corsaire”, “Grand Pas Classique”, and “Esmerelda Pas de Deux”, among others.

Upon retiring from her PNB performing career, Ms. Hadley founded the Washington Academy of Performing Arts in Redmonds, WA and directed it for five years.  She subsequently moved to work with her former PNB partner, Benjamin Houk, as the Ballet Mistress of the Fort Worth Dallas Ballet.  Now home in the northwest, she enjoys freelance teaching, coaching and staging.  Ms. Hadley has served as Adjudicator for several RDA regions, most often the Pacific, and has been instrumental in helping The Ballet Alliance specify its artistic standards.