Van Patten also learned some of George Balanchine's works, such as Serenade and Apollo under the direction of Cronsberg's daughter, Sandra Jennings, who danced at the New York City Ballet.
In 2001, at age 17, Van Patten became a member of the corps de ballet, thus became the youngest dancer to receive a contract in the company's history.
Later that year, she joined the San Francisco Ballet as a soloist, after meeting Helgi Tomasson, the director of the company, when he was staging his version of The Sleeping Beauty in Copenhagen.
She had also originated roles such as in Justin Peck's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, Cathy Marston's Snowblind, Arthur Pita's Björk Ballet and Christopher Wheeldon's Within a Golden Hour, and danced the roles of Cinderella and of the Stepsister Edwina in the North American premiere of Wheeldon's Cinderella, which was a co-production with Dutch National Ballet.
[4] Van Patten's repertoire with San Francisco Ballet and other companies includes:[1] Awards and honors:[1] Van Patten, who did not attend high school, took her GED exam after she returned to the United States and earned her Bachelor's Degree at St Mary's College.