The Washington Ballet (TWB) artistic director Julie Kent has won Dance Teacher‘s Award of Distinction for 2018. She received her prize during a ceremony in New York on 4 August.
Kent has overseen a growth of the company’s ballet school since she was appointed in 2016. This has included a new set of professional training programmes that have further integrated the The Washington School of Ballet (TWSB) with the main company
“At this new phase in my career, I feel strongly that my role is to give back to the art form,” said Kent. “It is exciting to teach and mentor dancers at all levels to help them realise their full potential as artists and I find this to be tremendously gratifying.”
In addition to developing TWSB Kent has made other changes at the company. She has introduced new repertoire from emerging choreographers like Gemma Bond and Ethan Stiefel, as well as classic works from artists like George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.
TWB’s 2018-19 season opens on 26 September with a performance at the Kennedy Centre.