Michele Wiles | Artistic Director
Michele has been described as a ballet body driven by a contemporary mind. From a young age she was interested in creating a fusion of styles, and at age 8 she was competing at a national level, including an appearance on Ed McMahon’s Star Search.
At 10 years old, Michele left her Baltimore, MD home to train at the prestigious Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. (1991-1997). It was during her time here, at the age of 16, that Michele became an award-winning dancer; taking the Gold Medal at the ‘Wimbledon of Ballet’, the 18th International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria.
In 1998 Michele joined what is now America’s National Ballet Company®, American Ballet Theatre (ABT). Her talent saw her rise to the very top, dancing coveted principal roles in Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Sylvia, and more for six years. She also continued her contemporary journey, working with renowned modern dance choreographers including William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, and Twyla Tharp.
As a dancer of the highest calibre in her field, Michele gained a unique perspective on the ballet world, and saw the potential to transform people’s expectations of what ballet could be. In 2011, she left ABT and started BalletNext; a company whose mission is to provide a platform for world-class artists, talented students, and renowned institutions to produce new work in an environment with art fusion at its core.
Artists she has collaborated with include legendary trumpet and flugelhorn player, Tom Harrell; energetic, daredevil founder of the Brooklyn Flexing dance style, Jay Donn; and Park City’s very own classical and flamenco guitarist, Jared Antonio Garcia Lyons.
Board of Directors
James R. McCullough, Chairman
Co-Founder & CEO, RenalytixAI
John W. James, Jr.
Founder/Principal, Arboretum Capital Advisors LLC. & experienced global investor
Kristin C. Pothier
Principal, National Strategy HCLS Life Sciences Leader, KPMG in the US
Dordy Jourdain
Vice President, Field Operations at YMCA of Greater New York
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