News of Note: What You Might Have Missed in June 2022
Here are the latest promotions, appointments and departures, as well as notable awards and accomplishments, from June 2022.
Comings & Goings
Kirven Douthit-Boyd has been appointed artistic director of Big Muddy Dance Company, beginning July 1.
Texas Ballet Theater artistic director Ben Stevenson became artistic director laureate effective July 1. Current associate artistic director Tim O’Keefe is stepping into the role of acting artistic director.
Aurélie Dupont will resign from her position as ballet director at the Paris Opéra Ballet, effective July 31.
John Neumeier will retire from his position as artistic director of Hamburg Ballet at the end of the 2022–23 season.
Wieke Eringa will step down as artistic director and CEO of Yorkshire Dance to join the Cultural Institute at the University of Leeds as associate director, beginning in September.
Stella Abrera has been named acting artistic director of American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School for the 2022–23 school year, effective August 22.
Kathryn Gigler has been named acting executive director at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, succeeding Harris Ferris on July 1.
Sonia Jones has been named executive director of Covenant Ballet Theatre of Brooklyn.
Mollie Sansone has been named resident choreographer at Nashville Ballet, effective with the 2022–23 season.
Magdalena Popa will retire from her position as principal artistic coach at National Ballet of Canada at the conclusion of the 2021–22 season. She will continue as an artistic advisor to the company.
At National Ballet of Canada, Genevieve Penn Nabity has been promoted to principal, Christopher Gerty to first soloist, and Selene Guerrero-Trujillo and Tirion Law to second soloist.
At The Australian Ballet, Sharni Spencer has been promoted to principal.
Katherine Barkman has joined San Francisco Ballet as a soloist.
Dutch National Ballet principals Jozef Varga and Remi Wörtmeyer gave their final performances in June. Varga will continue at the company as a ballet master.
Aaron Loux gave his final performance with Mark Morris Dance Group on June 12.
As of July 1, Missouri Contemporary Ballet has been renamed Mareck Center for Dance and the company Mareck Dance.
Awards & Honors
Michael Manson and Pramila Vasudevan are recipients of 2022 Joyce Awards, each of which includes a $75,000 grant.
Pedra Pepa, Leslie Parker and Rosy Simas received 2022 McKnight Fellowships for Choreography, and Leila Awadallah, Sharon Picasso and Cheng Xiong 2022 McKnight Fellowships for Dance.
BalletX is among the recipients of the inaugural grants awarded by the Ruth Foundation for the Arts, which range from $10,000 to $50,000 each.
Among the winners at the 2022 Tony Awards, Christopher Wheeldon took home the award for Best Choreography for MJ .
Bill T. Jones, Garrett Coleman and Jason Oremus, and associates Gelan Lambert and Chloe Davis, won the 2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography for their work on Paradise Square.
Winners of the 2022 Chita Rivera Awards included Bill T. Jones, Garrett Coleman and Jason Oremus (Outstanding Choreography in a Broadway Show, Paradise Square), Myles Frost and Jared Grimes (Outstanding Male Dancer in a Broadway Show, MJ and Funny Girl, respectively), Tendayi Kuumba (Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway Show, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf), the cast of for colored girls… (Outstanding Ensemble in a Broadway Show), Ryan Heffington and Ryan Spencer (Outstanding Choreography for a Theatrical Release, tick…tick…Boom!), and Josh Prince and John Carluccio (Outstanding Direction of a Documentary Release, First Try and Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back, respectively). Off-Broadway special recognitions awards were given to Josh Prince (Outstanding Choreography in an Off Broadway Show, Trevor) and The Wrong Man (Outstanding Ensemble in an Off Broadway Show).
Winners at the 2022 UK National Dance Awards included Yorke Dance Project (Best Independent Company), Michela Meazza (Outstanding Female Modern Performance, The Midnight Bell), Jeffrey Cirio (Outstanding Male Classical Performance, Creature), Emily Suzuki (Emerging Artist Award), Valentino Zucchetti (Best Classical Choreography, for Anemoi at The Royal Ballet), Ballet Black (Best Mid-Scale Company), Matthew Bourne (Best Modern Choreography, The Midnight Bell), Thomas Ades (Outstanding Creative Contribution, for his score for The Dante Project), Natalia Osipova (Outstanding Female Classical Performance, for Giselle at The Royal Ballet), James Vu Anh Pham (Outstanding Male Modern Performance, Outwitting the Devil), Scottish Ballet (Best Dance Film, for Starstruck), English National Ballet (Stef Stefanou Award for Outstanding Company), Marianela Nuñez (Best Female Dancer), Edward Watson (Best Male Dancer) and John Ashford (De Valois Award for Outstanding Achievement).
At the Tap Dance Awards, scheduled for July 8, DeWitt Fleming Jr. and Germaine Salsberg will receive this year’s ATDF Hoofer Award, and Yvonne Edwards the 2022 Tap Preservation Award. Additionally, Leonard Harper, Pete Nugent, Eddie Rector and Salt and Pepper will be inducted into the ATDF Tap Dance Hall of Fame.
