What Boston Ballet Dancers Eat for Breakfast

Four company members show us their morning meal while preparing for Swan Lake and Mirrors.

We don’t need to tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. In this series, we ask local notables for a sneak peek at how they start the day.


Lia Cirio

Lia Cirio’s breakfast. / Photo Provided

Lia Cirio

Claim to fame: Boston Ballet principal dancer.

What she ate: Coffee with almond milk, apples with peanut butter, and a Special K bar.

Why she chose it: “I’m not super hungry when I wake up, but since we are in the theater and won’t eat until 4:30 p.m., I try to eat something filling and nutritious.”

Lawrence Rines

Lawrence Rines’s breakfast. / Photo Provided

Lawrence Rines

Claim to fame: Boston Ballet Corp de Ballet.

What he ate: One egg over easy with Monterey Jack cheese, two pieces of bacon (“I am obsessed with bacon”), one vanilla-and-cream yogurt, and a hot pomegranate white tea.

Why he chose it: “I’m not a big breakfast person, but I make sure I eat something to fuel my day. I’m not a huge meal kind of guy—I basically snack all day, all the time. It keeps my energy level going.”

Rachele Buriassi

Rachele Buriassi’s breakfast. / Photo Provided

Rachele Buriassi

Claim to fame: Boston Ballet soloist.

What she ate: Hot water with lemon and honey, yogurt, toast with jam.

Why she chose it: “My breakfast is not the same every day—sometimes I eat more if we start late in the day. The most important thing for me is, every morning, as soon as I wake up, I drink a cup of hot water with lemon and honey on an empty stomach, and it’s really good for the body. I do that every day. And I love yogurt and toast with jam.”

Paul Craig

Paul Craig’s breakfast.

Paul Craig

Claim to fame: Boston Ballet soloist.

What he ate: French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, English muffin, and coffee from Forest Hills Diner.

Why he chose it: “This is what I eat when we have company class at 11:45 a.m. and work until 10:30 p.m. When we are at the theater, we don’t have a lunch break until 4:30 p.m., so I eat a large breakfast to last me throughout the afternoon. Luckily we work out all day, so I burn it off.”