She was ultimately accepted into the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo where she was guided by Massine who recognized her hard work and ability to learn quickly.

Hightower received acclaim from John Martin of The New York Times after a March 1947 performance of Giselle by the Original Ballet Russe at the Metropolitan Opera House.

This was the unscheduled first appearance of Rosella Hightower in the title role of Giselle", calling it "a thoroughly admirable achievement, which brought an ovation from the audience".

[2] The company disbanded after the 1961 death of de Cuevas, and Hightower largely retired from the stage, though she gave a series of performances in 1962 with Sonia Arova, Erik Bruhn and Rudolf Nureyev.

She was a co-founder along with choreographer Maurice Béjart and mecenate Philippe Braunschweig of Prix de Lausanne ballet competition in Switzerland and served as a first president of the jury in 1973.

In 1975, the French government named her a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, the country’s premier honor for her services to the opera and ballet.