Kevin Mckenzie News

Cynthia Harvey, Artistic Director of the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School since 2016, will leave her role at the conclusion of the school year in May 2022. A former Principal Dancer with ABT (1982-1996), Harvey was appointed Artistic Director of the ABT JKO School in January 2016 at the invitation of ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

American Ballet Theatre, Official Dance Company of Segerstrom Center for the Arts, presents ABT Forward, a mixed repertory program performed March 16–19, 2022, with three dazzling works highlighting the Company's incredible artistry and athleticism, and the inspiring visions of three of today's most exciting choreographers.

Former American Ballet Theatre Principal Dancer Amanda McKerrow and former ABT Soloist John Gardner will join the Company as Guest Répétiteurs through the end of the 2022 Metropolitan Opera House season, it was announced today by ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

Andrew Barth, Chairman of the Board of Governing Trustees at American Ballet Theatre, has announced the appointment of Janet Rollé to the position of CEO and Executive Director at American Ballet Theatre. Her appointment will become effective January 3, 2022. Rollé joins ABT from Parkwood Entertainment, having served as General Manager since 2016. 

American Ballet Theatre's Summer Intensive National Audition Tour will kick off on January 8, 2022, visiting a total of 21 cities through February 27, 2022.

Sarah Lane, former principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre, and Simon Wexler, former principal dancer of Texas Ballet Theater, will appear as guest artists in the Shreveport Metropolitan Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker on December 11 and 12, 2021 at the Riverview Theatre in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts announces the return of its popular tradition - American Ballet Theatre's captivating production of The Nutcracker.  Co-presented by the Center and ABT with choreography by ABT Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky, The Nutcracker is the beloved holiday story based on The Nutcracker and the King of Mice written by E.T.A. Hoffmann and set to a magical score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts President Casey Reitz and American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Executive Director Kara Medoff Barnett announced today a three-year partnership combining the resources of America’s National Ballet Company® and one of the nation’s leading presenters of dance.

The American Ballet Theatre has been named the official dance company of Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Segerstrom Center for the Arts President Casey Reitz and American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Executive Director Kara Medoff Barnett announced today a three-year partnership combining the resources of America’s National Ballet Company and one of the nation’s leading presenters of dance.

Casting for American Ballet Theatre’s 2021 Fall season has been announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. Principal Dancers for the 2021 Fall season at the Koch Theater include Joo Won Ahn, Aran Bell, Isabella Boylston, Skylar Brandt, Herman Cornejo, Thomas Forster, Gillian Murphy, and more.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts has announced  2021 Dance performances showcasing a varied and culturally rich program beginning next month with three of the most innovative North American dance companies heading to Orange County. From modern dance to contemporary ballet, the Center will host an extraordinary range of performances indoors.

Kara Medoff Barnett, Executive Director at American Ballet Theatre since February 2016, will step down this fall to assume a new leadership role at First Republic Bank leading social impact marketing and strategy and developing the First Republic Foundation.

In its return to indoor performances in New York City, American Ballet Theatre will present the 2021 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater, October 20-31, 2021. 

Betsy McBride, Simon Wexler, and Daniel Saez, will be members of the faculty for the Shreveport Dance Academy’s Summer Intensive which will be taking place from July 26 – August 6, 2021.

America’s National Ballet Company will take to the road this summer, traveling by bus and truck to 8 U.S. cities and arriving in New York on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. The tour concludes with two performances on the plaza at Rockefeller Center, the site where Ballet Theatre offered its first public performances in 1940.  

Five of New York City’s most acclaimed dance companies—Ballet Hispánico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem—will perform on the same stage at the first BAAND Together Dance Festival in Damrosch Park as part of Restart Stages.

Dallas Black Dance Theatre is honored to be a part of the full artist lineup for Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival 2021.

In his first work for American Ballet Theatre, Rudd has choreographed Touché for Principal Dancer Calvin Royal III and corps de ballet member João Menegussi. The work is set to Que Te Mate el Desierto, an original score by Woodkid from the motion picture Desierto, and Giuseppe Tornatore Suite by Ennio Morricone, recorded by Yo-Yo Ma from the motion picture Malèna. Touché, created and filmed in Silver Bay, New York, explores themes of male love. Sarah Lozoff served as intimacy director.

America’s National Ballet Company will take to the road this summer, traveling by bus and truck to 8 U.S. cities and arriving in Charleston, SC on Saturday, July 17. Charleston Gaillard Center will present ABT Across America for a performance on Saturday, July 17 performed outdoors at The Citadel’s parade ground, Summerall Field.

The ABT Studio Company Spring Festival was filmed at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in Tivoli, New York following the Studio Company’s spring bubbles in March and April 2021 at Kaatsbaan and the Silver Bay YMCA Conference & Family Retreat Center in Silver Bay, New York. All works were created, rehearsed, and filmed following strict COVID-19 health and safety protocols.