Rui Huang (Apprentice), from Shenzhen, China is in her first season at The Washington Ballet as an apprentice, after dancing in the Studio Company for one year. She studied at Shenzhen Arts School. In 2003, she attended The 9th Asian Pacific International Ballet Competition, winning third place and later that year, she won first place in The 7th National Ballet Competition of China. In 2004, she was a finalist in the 3rd Shanghai International Ballet Competition and in 2005, she joined the finalist in The 3rd CCTV Dance Competition in China, receiving the Outstanding Performance Award. That year she was also a finalist in the Prix Lausanne and won 3rd place in the Youth American Grand Prix. From September 2005 to March 2006 she was a member of The Guangzhou Ballet Company in China and performed in Swan Lake and Nutcracker.