American Ballet Theater appoints dance veteran as executive director

American Ballet Theatre, one of the largest dance companies in the United States, has faced a series of challenges in recent months. Relations with the dancers are tense, finances are under pressure and the organization lacks a permanent director.

On Thursday, Ballet Theater announced it would be bringing in a dance veteran as it tries to move past its woes: Barry Hughson, executive director of the National Ballet of Canada, will join the company in that role in July. He succeeds Janet Rollé, who suddenly resigned last summer after seventeen months.

Hughson, 56, a former dancer, said in an interview that he was undeterred by the Ballet Theater’s problems.

“ABT is a company I have loved since I watched Baryshnikov as a 10-year-old ballet student,” he said, referring to star dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. “It’s such an important institution in American dance, and it’s a challenging time for the arts community right now.”

Ballet Theater leaders said they chose Hughson, executive director at the National Ballet of Canada since 2014, because of his extensive experience in the field. He has held top positions at Boston Ballet and Atlanta Ballet, among others. They said he was also eager to work with Ballet Theater artistic director Susan Jaffe, who has served as interim director since Rollé’s departure.

“I expect and hope that it will be a great, collaborative leadership team,” Andrew F. Barth, chairman of Ballet Theater’s board, said in an interview. “We have the opportunity to explore how we can bring our art, and how we can bring this beautiful cultural aspect, to more people in more ways that are financially healthy.”

Like most performing arts organizations, the Ballet Theater, founded in 1939, suffered from the pandemic, which resulted in the cancellation of two seasons and cost the company millions of dollars in projected ticket revenue and touring expenses.

But while audiences have returned — attendance is averaging about 69 percent of capacity, compared to 63 percent before the pandemic — Ballet Theater is facing other financial challenges.

A major source of revenue for the company — the summer season at the Metropolitan Opera House — has been curtailed since 2022, when the Met extended its performances until June. That decision forced Ballet Theatre, with a $51 million budget, to cut its season at the Met from eight to five weeks. Overall, the number of performances for Ballet Theater, which tours extensively, fell to 83 this season, compared to 114 in 2018-2019.

And Ballet Theater’s subscriber base, which has traditionally been a major source of revenue, has declined from 6,251 in 2018-2019 to 2,516 in the most recent season. The company has also seen a decline in philanthropic donations, although it declined to provide details. Laura Miller, a spokeswoman for Ballet Theater, did not give a reason, saying only that detailed fundraising data was not available.

Relations between Ballet Theater management and the dancers have been tense lately due to heated negotiations over a new employment contract. The company reached a deal with dancers last month, agreeing to pay increases and other benefits.

Hughson said he would work to stabilize Ballet Theatre’s finances and help the company find new audiences. He said he wanted to expand the company’s presence in the New York market, which has traditionally been dominated by the New York City Ballet. And he hopes to reexamine the company’s touring model, long the lifeblood of Ballet Theater, so that tours can be “artistically vibrant but also economically viable.”

“We know ABT’s glorious past,” he said, “but it’s really about what stories we’re going to tell, how we’re going to support our artists and how we’re going to create a sustainable model for ABT to be there. another 80 years?”

Rollé’s resignation, just a week before the start of Ballet Theater’s 2023 summer season, came as a shock to the dance industry. Rollé, who was previously chief executive of Beyoncé’s entertainment company, did not provide an explanation, saying only that she would focus on serving corporate and nonprofit boards of directors.

Barth, chairman of the board, said the job was “not quite what she expected,” but that she left on good terms.

“I’m sure she’ll come see us at the ballet,” he said, “and I’ll greet her with a hug.”

Barth said the company had considered keeping Jaffe, a former star ballerina at the company, as artistic and executive director, but decided “it’s just too much work” for one person.

Hughson, whose career as a performer began at the Washington Ballet, said he hoped for a long tenure. “It feels like the right place for me to spend the last 10 years of my career,” he said, “and see if I can make a difference.”