The doctor who delivered her said she had beautiful legs, therefore her mother believed Part should be a ballet dancer.
[citation needed] Part first performed in New York City in 1999 with the Mariinsky cast as the Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty and caught the attention of American Ballet Theatre director Kevin McKenzie.
When she returned three years later in the role of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, McKenzie invited her to join as a soloist with the company, which she accepted.
[2][4] Part considered leaving the ABT and return to Russia, as she wanted to dance more and more support offstage, but was promoted to the rank of principal dancer in 2009.
[5] Since her promotion, she had danced many of lead roles of the company's repertoire, including works by McKenzie, Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine and Alexei Ratmansky.
[3] She had created roles for the latter, including Natalia in his On the Dnieper and Lilac Fairy in his version of The Sleeping Beauty.
[citation needed] The following year, she appeared in documentary Ballet's Greatest Hits, dancing the White Swan pas de deux.