Six years ago, star dancer Julie Kent, who had a 29-year career at the American Ballet Theater, Said She took a job as artistic director of the Washington Ballet, becoming one of the few women at the time to run a major dance company in America.
On Friday, Kent announced another surprising move: he will leave the Washington Ballet at the end of the 2022-23 season to serve as artistic director of the Houston Ballet.
Kent said in a statement that she is keen on new challenges and has found a partner with Houston Ballet artistic director Stanton Welch.
“I have admired Stanton and his wonderful work for over 20 years, and I am very much looking forward to starting an exhilarating next chapter with him.
Welch called Kent “ballet royalty” and said he was “extremely talented” as a dancer, coach and teacher. No one,” he said in a statement.
In Washington, Kent brings his star power and understated leadership style, working to revitalize the 46-year-old company, commissioning 26 new works, and creating 20th-century productions such as Antony Tudor’s Lilac Garden. performed a repertoire. The company staged a version of “Sleeping Beauty” staged by Kent and her husband, Washington, her ballet associate and her artistic director, Victor Barbie.
In a statement, she said she had “found my voice as an artistic director” in Washington and that the company “will always have a special place in my heart.”
In Houston, Kent will help lead a company of 61 dancers with a budget of $34.6 million and an endowment of $88.9 million. The company has expanded its global reach in recent years with tours in the United States, Europe, Russia, Australia and elsewhere.