News of Note: What You Might Have Missed in January 2026
Here are the latest promotions, appointments, and departures, as well as notable awards and accomplishments, from January 2026.
Comings & Goings
Troy Schumacher has become the full-time artistic and executive director of BalletCollective, which he founded.
Michael Vernon has been named interim artistic director of Indianapolis Ballet for the remainder of the 2025–26 season, following the departure of founder Victoria Lyras in late 2025.
Naomi Goldberg Haas will transition from artistic director to artistic director emerita of Dances for a Variable Population in June. The search for the company’s next artistic director is underway.
At Georgia Ballet, Ashleyanne Hensley has been appointed interim executive director. She succeeded executive director Alexa DeStefano on January 1.
Raquel Du Toit joined Dance/NYC as its new executive director on January 26.
Kiera Anderson has been appointed executive director of Sacramento Ballet.
Deborah Warner has been appointed artistic director of Park Avenue Armory.
Lucinda Childs has been named resident choreographer of Gibney Company from 2026–30.
At Houston Ballet, Tyler Donatelli has been promoted to principal.
At Philadelphia Ballet, Thays Golz has been promoted to principal.
At Scottish Ballet, Yuri Marques has been promoted to principal.
At The Australian Ballet, Isobelle Dashwood, Cameron Holmes, and Maxim Zenin have been promoted to senior artist, Grace Carroll and Samara Merrick to soloist.
At Royal New Zealand Ballet, Dane Head and Gretchen Steimle have been promoted to soloist.
Patricio Revé will join The Royal Ballet as a principal at the start of the 2026–27 season.
Awards & Honors
Jason Samuels Smith, Mame Diarra Speis-Biaye, Parul Shah, Shamel Pitts, and Thaddeus Davis and Tanya Wideman-Davis (Wideman Davis Dance) are among the recipients of 2026 United States Artist Fellowships, which include a $50,000 unrestricted grant.
2024 NY Dance and Performance Awards (the “Bessies”) included: Outstanding Choreographer/Creator for Shamel Pitts (Touch of RED), Nia Love (UNDERcurrents), Hyejin Jeong, Sung Hoon Kim, and Jaeduk Kim (One Dance), and Wanjiru Kamuyu (A Disguised Welcome…aka An Immigrant’s Story); Outstanding Breakout Choreographer for Baye & Asa; Outstanding Performer for the ensemble of Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring at Park Avenue Armory (which also won Outstanding Revival), Edisa Weeks, Paul Hamilton, and Abdiel. 2025 awards included: Outstanding Choreographer/Creator for Fredrick Earl Mosley (Unleashed), Lar Lubovitch (Many Angels), Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons (Cats: The Jellicle Ball), and Yoko Murakami (Blink); Outstanding Breakout Choreographer for Amy Hall Garner; Outstanding Performer for Jacquelin Harris, the cast of Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Jake Roxander, and House of Juicy + House of Telfar; and Outstanding Revival for Ronald K. Brown (for Grace at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater).
At the 2026 Martha Hill Awards in February, Joan Finkelstein and Phyllis Lamhut will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards, and Dante Puleio and David Hamilton Thomson the Mid-Career Awards.
English National Ballet first soloist Katja Khaniukova was awarded Ukraine’s Order of Princess Olha.
Malorie Lundgren received New York City Ballet’s 2026 Janice Levin Award.
