News of Note: What You Might Have Missed in February 2022

March 2, 2022

Here are the latest promotions, appointments and departures, as well as notable awards and accomplishments, from February 2022. Also of note: new or newly available funding opportunities for dance artists.

Comings & Goings

At New York City Ballet, Harrison Ball, Jovani Furlan and Peter Walker have been promoted to principal.

At Miami City Ballet, Samantha Hope Galler has been promoted to principal soloist, Adrienne Carter, Taylor Naturkas and Ariel Rose to soloist.

At Eugene Ballet, Sarah Kosterman has been promoted to principal.

At The Australian Ballet, Callum Linnane has been promoted to principal artist.

Ballet West principals Beckanne Sisk and Chase O’Connell will join Houston Ballet as principal dancers beginning with the 2022–23 season. Their final Ballet West performances are planned for May.

Jeffrey Cirio, currently a lead principal at English National Ballet, will rejoin Boston Ballet as a guest artist for its May and June programs and as a principal from the start of the 2022–23 season.

Jeffrey Cirio balances in croisé attitude back, arms in a presentational fourth. His hair is slicked back and he is costumed in black tights, ballet boots, and an ornate red vest and black cravat over a flowy white shirt. Dancers in 18th century period-wear mill in the background.
Jeffrey Cirio performing in Manon with English National Ballet. Photo by Laurent Liotardo, Courtesy Boston Ballet

Daniil Simkin and Daniel Camargo will join American Ballet Theatre as guest artists this spring.

Haruhi Otani has joined English National Ballet as a soloist.

San Francisco Ballet principal Sarah Van Patten will retire at the end of the 2022 season. Her final performance is scheduled for April 16.

Adolphe Binder leans against a marble wall, silver and brown curls falling to her shoulders and hands in the pockets of her blue coat as she directs a small smile to the camera.
Adolphe Binder. Photo by Christian Knörr, Courtesy Theater Basel

Adolphe Binder has been named artistic director of ballet at Theater Basel for two seasons from 2023–25.

Paloma Herrera has resigned from her position as director of Ballet Estable del Teatro Colón.

Laurent Hilaire has resigned from his position as artistic director of the Stanislavsky Ballet.

At Gibney, Nigel Campbell has been appointed Gibney Center artistic director, Amy Miller director of engagement, and Gilbert T Small II director of Gibney Company.

Jenna Lavin will succeed Darla Hoover as artistic director of Ballet Academy East in May. Stacey Calvert has been named artistic advisor.

Mark Foehringer has been named artistic director of San José Dance Theatre, succeeding Linda Hurkmans.

Cynthia Harvey will leave her position as artistic director of American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at the conclusion of the school year in May. The search for her successor is underway.

Katie C. Sopoci Drake has been appointed general manager of The Washington School of Ballet, beginning April 1.

Gina Duncan has been appointed president of Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Graham Cole has been appointed executive director of White Bird.

Philip Koester has been appointed executive director of Louisville Ballet.

Joe Bates has been appointed executive director of Dance Consortium, taking over from Ros Robins in early May.

Kay Takeda has been named executive director of Foundation for Contemporary Arts, beginning March 28.

Cathy Edwards will step down as executive director at New England Foundation for the Arts at the end of May.

Lisa Dixon French will depart from her executive director position at Nashville Ballet at the end of the season in June.

Janesta Edmonds has been named interim director of programs at SAFEhouse Arts.

At Philadelphia Ballet, Juliano Nuñes has been named resident choreographer for the 2021–22 and 2022­–23 seasons.

Omar Gordon has joined Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal as a ballet master.

Jonathan Payn, Laura Day and Rory Mackay have been named assistant répétiteurs at Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Awards & Honors

Alice Blumenfeld, Talise Campbell, Holly Handman-Lopez, Russell Lepley, Christina Lindhout, Catherine Meredith, Quentin Sledge and Countess V. Winfrey have received Individual Excellence Awards, which include $5,000 grants, from the Ohio Arts Council.

The Morrison-Shearer Foundation awarded Sybil Shearer Fellowships to Nejla Yatkin and Deeply Rooted Dance Theater.

Lauren Davis, Janesta Edmonds, Jesse Escalante, Johnny Huy Nguyen, SNJV and tashi tamate weiss are the inaugural cohort of ODC’s Queer and BIPOC Space Residency Initiative.

A.I.M executive director Sydnie Liggett-Dennis was named one of Crain’s New York Business’ 2022 Notable Black Leaders and Executives.

New Funding Opportunities

Applications for 2023 Jerome Hill Artist Fellowships, which include $50,000 awards paid over two years to Minnesota and New York City–based artists, are open through May 4.

Creatives Rebuild New York has opened applications for its two programs. Guaranteed Income for Artists will provide 2,400 artists with financial need $1,000 per month for 18 months. The Artist Employment Program will fund employment of up to 300 artists at community-based organizations across the state with salaries of $65,000 per year. Applications for both programs are open through March 25.

The Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Mertz Gilmore Seed Fund for Dance will award $5,000 grants to support 16 dance projects taking place in Upper Manhattan between now and February 28, 2023. Applications for the second cycle, which will include projects happening from August 1, 2022, to February 28, 2023, are open until April 1.