Meet the Philadelphia Ballet principal dancer who's following in the footsteps of father, brother

The Philadelphia Ballet is celebrating more than just its 60th anniversary this season, a family legacy will play out on stage at the Academy Of Music.

For principal dancer Ashton Roxander, Philadelphia Ballet has been his home for the last eight years.

This week, Roxander will be performing the role of Puck, a mischievous sprite in "The Dream", a romantic ballet inspired by William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

“Puck is one of the hardest male roles that a male dancer could experience," Philadelphia Artistic Director Angel Corella said. "Not only you have to turn and jump and do these very difficult steps, but you have to make it look like - effortless.”

Roxander has plenty of personal inspiration with the production of "The Dream." In true Shakespearean fashion, there’s a family twist.

During his performance, Roxander will be wearing the very same costume his father wore when he performed the role decades ago with the National Ballet of Canada.

And get this, Roxander's brother wore the same costume last year when he also played the role of Puck with the American Ballet Theatre in New York.

Costumes are often passed along over decades when ballet companies rent them from each other. The family’s last name, Roxander, is even on the inside.

"I think the kind of like timeless nature of our art is like we get to climb the same mountain, so to speak, as our inspirations and predecessors because these ballets keep coming back," Roxander said.

You can see "The Dream" by the Philadelphia Ballet from Thursday, May 9 through Sunday, May 12. For more information, visit philadelphiaballet.org.

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