Emerson Dayton was born in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania and trained at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She was member of Charlotte Ballet from 2020 to 2022, joined the National Ballet as a Corps de Ballet member in 2022 and was promoted to Second Soloist in 2024.
Most recently, Emerson made her debut in the title role of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and as Olga in Onegin. Her repertoire with the National Ballet includes Blossom in Cinderella, Amour in Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, MADDADDAM, Emma Bovary, Jewels, Suite en Blanc, The Collective Agreement and Concerto. Some of her repertoire with Charlotte Ballet includes Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty.
Emerson competed in The International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize, representing The National Ballet of Canada in 2023.