Washington Ballet Artistic Director Julie Kent to Complete Tenure at Conclusion of 22-23 Season

The Washington Ballet has announced that Artistic Director Julie Kent will conclude her tenure with the Company at the end of the 2022-2023 season. Ms. Kent has accepted a new leadership role as Co-Artistic Director of Houston Ballet, effective July 2023.

Jean-Marie Fernandez, Chair of the Board of the Washington Ballet, commented: "Julie's leadership of The Washington Ballet has been nothing short of transformational. As Julie takes this next professional step, we offer our deepest thanks and full support. Together, we can move forward with confidence, knowing that our company is as strong as it has ever been."

Ms. Kent stated:

The Washington Ballet will always have a special place in my heart; it is where I found my voice as an artistic director. Over seven seasons, the dancers and I have grown and learned together, always dancing forward to new opportunities. It is precisely because of how far we've all come in the last seven years, and particularly in the last three years, that I know that this is the right moment for me, and for the Company, to look towards the future.

Our dancers are reaching new artistic peaks, our School and Community programs continue to grow in all corners of the city, and our company is authentically, intentionally building an organizational culture of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. I feel tremendous gratitude to my Washington Ballet family, thrilled to join a new family in Houston, and hopeful for all that lies ahead.

Ms. Kent and her partner, TWB Associate Artistic Director Victor Barbee, will remain in Washington, D.C. and active in Company work through the remainder of TWB's 2022-2023 season. Performances will include the upcoming production of The Nutcracker (November 25-December 30, 2022), an all-Balanchine program (February 22-26, 2023) and a revival of The Sleeping Beauty (May 4-7, 2023) at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and "Aurora's Wedding" family performances at Capital One Hall, Tyson's Corner, Virginia (April 7-9, 2023).

Ms. Kent joined The Washington Ballet in July 2016, becoming only its third Artistic Director in the company's 46-year history. She has introduced important classical and contemporary masterworks into TWB's repertoire-including her and Associate Artistic Director Victor Barbee's own critically acclaimed stagings of The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle and Swan Lake. During her tenure, Ms. Kent has commissioned 26 world premieres by 17 different choreographers, including Jessica Lang, John Heginbotham, Stanton Welch and Trey McIntyre. She has also brought new voices to 21st-century ballet by commissioning original work from Silas Farley, Brett Ishida, Mthuthuzeli November, Clifton Brown, Helga Paris-Morales, Dana Genshaft, Marcelo Gomes, Gemma Bond, and Ethan Stiefel, and by elevating in-house choreographic talent including Tamás Krizsa, Xiomara Reyes, and Andile Ndlovu.

The Board of The Washington Ballet will begin an international search for Ms. Kent's successor.