Julie Kent became the Artistic Director of Houston Ballet in July 2023, joining Stanton Welch, Member of the Order of Australia (AM), as co-artistic leadership of America’s fourth largest classical ballet company. Kent was the longest serving Ballerina in American Ballet Theatre’s 84-year history, dancing a vast repertoire of classical and neo-classical roles from 1985 to 2015. In her career as a performer, she closely worked with choreographers such as John Neumeier, Twyla Tharp, Lar Lubovitch, Stanton Welch, Alexei Ratmansky, Mark Morris, Nacho Duato, James Kudelka, Jorma Elo, Kevin McKenzie and many others. Ms Kent also performed as an international Guest Artist with the Mariinsky Theatre, New York City Ballet, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Stuttgart Ballet, Staatsballett Berlin, Australian Ballet, Houston Ballet, Bayerisches Staatsballett, Teatro Colón, Ballet de Santiago and Tokyo Ballet. Julie Kent was awarded the Prix de Lausanne (1986), Erik Bruhn Prize (1993) and was the first American dancer ever to win the Prix Benois de la Danse (2000). In 2021, she received an Honorary Doctorate of Performing Arts from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and a »Lifetime Achievement Award« from Dance Magazine and was conferred an Honorary Doctorate from American University’s College of Arts and Sciences in 2023. Ms Kent also starred in the films »Dancers« (1987) and »Centerstage« (2000). In August 2015, after a 30-year performing career, Julie Kent was named Artistic Director of American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive, a comprehensive dance programme for 1,400 students at five campuses across the US. Between 2016 and 2023, she was Artistic Director of The Washington Ballet where she brought important classical and contemporary masterworks into the repertoire, commissioning over 26 world premieres. In 1996, she married former ABT Principal Dancer Victor Barbee, and, as a mother of two children, she has helped redefine the image of the American Ballerina. (Status: 2023/24)