kevin mckenzie

Born in Burlington, Vermont and trained in Washington, DC by Mary Day, Kevin McKenzie won a silver medal in the Varna International Ballet Competition in 1972. After starting his professional career with the National Ballet of Washington under the direction of Fredrick Franklin and Ben Stevenson, he moved to New York City to work with the Joffrey Ballet before joining American Ballet Theatre as a soloist in 1979 and promoted to Principal dancer that same year.

After enjoying a full performing career with ABT, he became Artistic Associate with the Washington Ballet and in 1992 was appointed Artistic Director of ABT. During his 30 years in that position, he nurtured 3 generations of ABT dancers while establishing and overseeing the ABT Studio Company, The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre, The ABT National Training Curriculum, The ABT Innovation Initiative for choreographic development as well as welcoming Alexie Ratmansky as the Artist in Residence at ABT to create some of the most treasured additions to ABT’s repertoire in the company’s experience.

Retiring from his position at ABT, Mckenzie has turned his attention back to Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, an institution he co-founded in 1991 and now serves as Chairman and Artist Advisor.

Elizabeth FErrell
SESSION 4

At a young age, Beth was awarded a Ford Foundation Scholarship to attend the School of American Ballet. Upon graduation, she was chosen by Peter Martins to receive the Danish American National Cultures Exchange scholarship to study with the Royal Danish Ballet. In 1985, she was invited by Mikhail Baryshnikov to become a member of the American Ballet Theatre where she danced from 1985 to 1998—additionally performing with the Pennsylvania Ballet, Eglevsky Ballet, New York City Opera, Alessandra Ferri’s “Stars of the American Ballet,” and Hong Kong Ballet throughout her career. She can be seen in several “Dance in America” programs for PBS, Herbert Ross's movie “Dancers” and Frederick Wiseman’s documentary “Ballet.”

An ABT-certified instructor, Beth has taught at Ballet Hispanico, Peridance Center, Gibney Dance and Steps on Broadway in New York, Danceworks in London, and the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts among others. Since 2016, she has been teaching for both the Children’s Division and Pre-Professional Division at the JKO School of American Ballet Theatre and for the ABT Summer Intensive program in New York.

GEMMA BOND
session 2

Gemma Bond was born in Bedfordshire, England. She received her training at the Royal Ballet School. Bond was contracted to The Royal Ballet in 2000 as a member of the  corps de ballet, later being promoted to First Artist in 2003. Bond remained with the Royal Ballet until 2008, when she was invited to join American Ballet Theatre, where she danced as a member of the corps de ballet till 2019. Whilst dancing with American Ballet Theatre Bond rediscovered choreography, she created and performed some of her first works at American Ballet Theatre’s Choreographic Incubator. 

Jessica Lang
SESSION 4

Jessica Lang is an American director and choreographer based in New York City. She is Resident Choreographer at Pacific Northwest Ballet and Artist in Residence at Sarasota Ballet.

Since 1999, Lang has created more than 100 original works on companies worldwide including American Ballet Theatre, The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Pacific Northwest Ballet, the National Ballet of Japan, The Joffrey Ballet, and her eponymous company Jessica Lang Dance, among many others.

For more than two decades, Lang has worked extensively for American Ballet Theatre. Her original creations on the main company include Her Notes, Garden Blue, and ZigZag with the legendary Tony Bennett, as well as Let Me Sing Forevermore which was performed on the ABT Across America nationwide tour and featured regularly on Celebrity Cruise entertainment programs. Lang has created seven ballets on ABT Studio Company including Children’s Songs Dance in collaboration with music icon Chick Corea. Additionally for ABT, Lang was part of the founding faculty of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, a teaching artist for the summer intensives and the Make-a-Ballet program, and served as a mentor and panelist for the Incubator program.

For opera, Lang directed and choreographed Pergolesi's Stabat Mater at the 2013 Glimmerglass Opera Festival that was presented at Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival in 2017 performed by Jessica Lang Dance. In 2016, she choreographed San Francisco Opera's production of Aida, directed by Francesca Zambello that was presented at Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, LA Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. In 2024, Lang co-choreographed Zambello's new production of Turandot for Washington National Opera and Salome for Des Moines Metro Opera.

Additional commissions include new works for the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra, The Harris Theater and the Chicago Architecture Biennial in collaboration with architect Steven Holl, the Dallas Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum for its Works and Process series. For fashion, Lang was the movement advisor for Carolina Herrera's Pre-Fall 2022 collection.

Lang was Artistic Director of Jessica Lang Dance from 2011-2019. Founded in 2011, the company toured and performed in over 85 cities presented by major venues including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Los Angeles Music Center, The Kennedy Center, The Harris Theater, New York City Center, Northrop Auditorium, Winspear Opera House, Tel Aviv Opera House, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, BAM Fisher and Helikon Opera, among many others.

She is the recipient of a 2018 Martha Hill Mid-Career Award, the 2017 Arison Award and a 2014 Bessie Award. She was nominated for The Critics' Circle National Dance Awards for Best Digital Choreography in 2021 for Ghost Variations on Pacific Northwest Ballet and a Manchester Evening News Award in 2012 for Lyric Pieces on Birmingham Royal Ballet. She has been a fellow of New York City Center and The Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU, and in 2019 named a Caroline Hearst Choreographer-in-Residence at Princeton University. Lang’s work has also been performed by numerous educational institutions including The Juilliard School, SUNY Purchase, NYU Tisch School of the Arts and University of Arizona, among many others.

Jessica Lang is originally from Bucks County, PA and a graduate of The Juilliard School under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy. Lang is a former member of Twyla Tharp's company, THARP! where she toured and performed all over the world.

Lang is Artist in Residence at Sarasota Ballet. She was Artistic Director of Jessica Lang Dance from 2011-2019 where the company performed in over 85 cities presented by venues worldwide. She is the recipient of a Bessie Award, Arison award, Martha Hill Mid-Career Award, fellowships at NY City Center and NYU’s Center for Ballet and the Arts, and named a Caroline Hearst Choreographer-in-Residence at Princeton University. Lang graduated from The Juilliard School and is a former member of Twyla Tharp's company, THARP! www.jessicalangchoreographer.com

gillian murphy
session 1

Gillian Murphy is an internationally renowned ballerina who recently retired from her 29-year performance career with American Ballet Theatre (ABT). Her repertoire included leading roles in ABT’s most iconic full-length classics and in shorter works by luminary choreographers of the past and present. Murphy danced a broad scope of styles and characters, including the title heroines in Cinderella, Giselle, La Bayadere, La Fille Mal Gardeé, Raymonda, The Sleeping Beauty, Sylvia, and Woolf Works.

Raised in Florence, South Carolina, Gillian Murphy was a member of Columbia City Ballet before attending high school at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). As a teenager, Murphy was awarded the Prix de Lausanne Espoir, and she joined American Ballet Theatre in 1996. After being honored with a Princess Grace Foundation Award, Murphy was promoted to Soloist in 1999 and to Principal Dancer in 2002. She starred as Odette/Odile in ABT’s PBS television production of Swan Lake and was featured in the Ric Burns American Masters documentary entitled American Ballet Theatre: A History. Murphy performed the role of Giselle in the New Zealand Film Commission’s movie of Stiefel and Kobborg’s production of Giselle at the Royal New Zealand Ballet, where she was a Principal Guest Artist for three years. Murphy has danced as a guest artist throughout the world, performing with the Mariinsky Ballet, the Royal Swedish Ballet, the Staatsballett Berlin, the Kiev Ballet, the Australian Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera, and in numerous other international engagements and galas. Murphy starred onstage in world premieres of new creations by Alexei Ratmansky, Mark Morris, Benjamin Millepied, Michelle Dorrance, Jorma Elo, Jessica Lang, Marcelo Gomes, James Whiteside, Aszure Barton, Peter Quanz, Natalie Weir, John Neumeier, Robert Hill, Christopher Wheeldon, Ethan Stiefel, and Twyla Tharp.

She is a recipient of a Princess Grace Statue Award and an honorary doctorate from UNCSA. In 2018, Murphy graduated summa cum laude from St. Mary’s College of California with a Bachelor of Arts. In 2019, Murphy completed the Harvard Business School’s “Crossover into Business” program and served on the international jury panel of the Prix de Lausanne. For three summers in Martha’s Vineyard, Murphy directed a training program, Dreamcatchers, for dancers aged 12 to 14. She has taught and coached globally and throughout the United States, including at American Ballet Theatre, the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, the Dance Theater of Harlem, the City Ballet of San Diego, Kaatsbaan, the Ivy Ballet Exchange, and the Princeton Ballet School. She became Artistic Associate at American Repertory Ballet in 2021 and lives near Princeton, NJ with her husband Ethan Stiefel and their son. For the most current updates, Murphy can be followed on Instagram @gillianemurphy.

Rebecca Krohn
Session 2

A graduate of The School of American Ballet, Ms. Krohn joined New York City Ballet in 1998. In 2008 she was promoted to the rank of Soloist, followed by rising to the rank of Principal Dancer in 2012.
As a Principal, Ms. Krohn danced numerous ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins and Alexi Ratmansky.
Towards the end of her dancing career, Ms Krohn began shadowing some of her coaches who worked directly with Mr. Balanchine, to begin her preparation to become a Repertory Director with NYCB upon her retirement.

As a Repertory Director Ms. Krohn strives to cultivate a new generation of dancers with the same tutelage that she received as a dancer.

christine Shevchenko
Session 3

Christine Shevchenko, Principal Dancer with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), was born in Odessa, Ukraine to a gymnast father and dancer/actor mother.  At the age of four she was chosen to train in rhythmic gymnastics and ballet at an Olympic School.  At the age of seven, she immigrated to the United States and trained for nine years at Pennsylvania Ballet’s Rock School.  Christine danced the children’s lead in Pennsylvania Ballet’s The Nutcracker for three years, and was featured in the NBC special Degas and the Dance.  In 2002 she was invited to perform with International Ballet Theatre Company’s “Stars of Kirov, Bolshoi and Ukrainian Ballet” in Annapolis, Maryland. 

In 2003, Christine became the youngest recipient of the Princess Grace Award.  Other awards include the Bronze Medal in the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, 2005 Gold Medal and Title of Laureate at the Moscow International Ballet Competition, the George Zoritch of  Ballet Russe Award for Talent Recognition and the 2010 Margaret Moore Dance Award. 

Christine joined American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company in August 2006 where she performed classical and contemporary pieces.   She was asked to join American Ballet Theatre as an apprentice in December 2007 and the corps de ballet in June 2008.  She became a Soloist in 2014 and a Principal Dancer in September 2017.

She has danced leading and soloist roles from Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Le Corsaire, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Harlequinade, The Flames of Paris, Grand Pas Classique, Paquita, La Bayadère, and Balanchine works and more.  She has had numerous roles created on her including in AfterEffect, Everything Doesn’t Happen at Once, Praedicere, Private Light  and Songs of Bukovina and also performed various contemporary pieces by world renowned choreographers that included Caprice #1, a competition piece created for her by Benjamin Millepied.

She has a vast repertoire of dancing leading and soloist roles. She has worked world-renowned choreographers like Alexei Ratmansky, Twyla Tharp, Benjamin Millipied, Christopher Wheeldon, Alonzo King, and many more. 

Off season, Christine enjoys working with young dancers around the country in one of her many popular master classes, as well as teaching privates.

In 2018, she added the title of choreographer to her resume, creating the dance sequences for the feature film, Stella’s Last Weekend, starring Alex Wolff (Hereditary, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) and Nat Wolff (The Kill Team, Paper Towns).  In addition, she recently finished a semester for Harvard Business School’s “Crossover into Business” program that is available to professional athletes. She is now continuing her studies with the Harvard Extension School online.

Christine has graced magazine covers Pointe and INLove, and has been featured in publications including: New York Times, Dance magazine, Town & Country, Vogue Italia, Vogue Ukraine, Elle Russia, as well as numerous dance, news and fashion publications and programs. 

To add, she is an ambassador for the International Rescue Committee, supporting and speaking at important charity events to bring awareness to refugees.

wendy whelan
Session 4

Wendy Whelan is the Associate Artistic Director of New York City Ballet. One of the most acclaimed dancers of her generation, she followed a storied 30-year career at NYCB with a variety of multi-disciplinary projects with cultural organizations around the world. She was named NYCB Associate Artistic Director in February 2019.

As a dancer with NYCB, Whelan counted principal roles in more than 125 ballets in her repertory, dancing virtually all of the major Balanchine roles, working closely with Jerome Robbins on many of his works, and was also the dancer most choreographed on in NYCB history, creating leading roles in more than 50 new works by such choreographers as William Forsythe, Twyla Tharp, Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, Jorma Elo, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Wayne McGregor, Peter Martins, and numerous others. Following her retirement from NYCB in 2014, she cultivated multi-disciplinary performance projects with a range of collaborators including choreographers Kyle Abraham, Joshua Beamish, Brian Brooks, Alejandro Cerrudo, Lucinda Childs, Daniele Désnoyers, Javier De Frutos, David Neumann, Annie-B Parson, and Arthur Pita.

Whelan began studying dance in Louisville with Virginia Wooton, a local teacher, and at the Louisville Ballet Academy. In 1981 she received a scholarship to the Summer Course at the School of American Ballet and a year later, enrolled as a full-time student at SAB. She was named an apprentice with NYCB in 1984 and joined the corps de ballet in 1986.  She was promoted to Soloist in 1989 and to Principal Dancer in 1991.

Her awards include the Dance Magazine Award in 2007, and in 2009 she was given a Doctorate of Arts, honoris causa, from Bellarmine University in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. In 2011, she received both the Jerome Robbins Award and a Bessie Award for Sustained Achievement in Performance.