Daniil Simkin was born in Russia to a ballet family. In 1990, the family left for the West and, after several international engagements, settled in Wiesbaden, Germany, where Simkin first appeared on the stage. From the age of six he often appeared onstage, dancing alongside his father Dmitrij Simkin.
Simkin joined American Ballet Theatre as a Soloist in October 2008 and became a Principal Dancer in December 2012. His repertoire with the Company includes the Bronze Idol in La Bayadère, the Ballet Dancer in The Bright Stream, Franz in Coppélia, Ali and Lankendem in Le Corsaire, Basilio and the Lead Gypsy in Don Quixote, the Flames of Paris pas de deux, the peasant pas de deux in Giselle, Kolia in A Month in the Country, the Nutcracker Prince in Alexei Ratmansky's The Nutcracker, Lensky in Onegin, the Son in Prodigal Son, Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, Boy With Matted Hair in Shadowplay, Prince Désiré and the Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty.