Archives: Honorary Members

THERESA RUTH HOWARD is the founder and curator of Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet (MoBBallet.org) a digital platform that preserves, presents, and promotes the Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet. She is a respected advocate and leader in the conversations surrounding diversity and culture in Ballet and the arts as an internationally sought-after diversity strategist, speaker, consultant and coach to artistic, executive, and school directors and Board members of Ballet and Opera. Her background as a dancer (Dance Theater of Harlem and Armitage Gone! Dance) and dance educator make her uniquely qualified to target, address and facilitate much-needed cultural shifts in ballet leadership. In 2018, she was a member of the Design and Facilitation Team of The Equity Project: Increasing the Presence of Blacks in Ballet, a three-year initiative funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which assembled a cohort of 21 North American Ballet companies.

As a curator, Howard has presented at both in-person and virtual Symposiums. In October 2019, they held their first MoBBallet Symposium (MBBS), a multi-generational personal development and educational intensive, which convened an elite and diverse faculty of black ballet professionals and pre-professional ballet students. In August 2020 during the BLM uprisings, MoBBallet hosted a 3 weekend virtual symposium that centered blackness and promoted education, communication and restoration and in March 2021, the Ballet IS Woman symposium celebrated female artistic and executive directors in ballet.

Howard has been member of the design team for the Dutch National Ballet’s (DNB) bi-annual conference, Positioning Ballet, a convening of over 40 European and international companies, and curated their 2019 Black Achievement Month photo exhibition paying homage to all of the Black Ballet artists who have danced with the company since 1961. In 2019 Ms. Howard curated The Royal Opera House’s inaugural Young Talent Festival 2019 Symposium, “Exposure, Access and Opportunity: Exploring the Cultural Barriers to Ballet Training.” Most recently she has been tapped to curate a week of Ballet for the Kennedy Center’s 2022 summer season. In addition Ms. Howard is a dance journalist, having contributed to The Source, Pointe, Expressions (Italy), and Tanz (Germany), and Opera America Magazines. Currently she is a contributing writer for Dance Magazine. Alastair Macaulay cites her as “One of the most valuable writer on dance today… Theresa Ruth Howard has written some of the most provocative pieces on ballet today”.

Over the years she has been a mentor for many of the young men and women that she has taught over the years. Her life motto is: “The only way to make the world a better place, is to be better people in it!”

Declared by the New York Times as “America’s Quintessential American Ballerina” Susan Jaffe was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre for 20 years, a career which began in 1980. Prominent in the international dance scene as well, her European engagements included performances with The Royal Ballet, The Kirov Ballet, The Stuttgart Ballet, The Munich State Opera Ballet, La Scala Ballet in Milan, The Vienna State Opera Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet, The Royal Swedish Ballet, and The English National Ballet. Ms. Jaffe’s versatility as a dancer allowed her to tackle a large range of choreographic works which included her acclaimed interpretations of the classics like Swan Lake, as well as the dramatic works of John Cranko, Antony Tudor, Agnes de Mille and Kenneth MacMillian.

She also worked with and danced the works of many prominent choreographers such as Jiri Kylian, Twyla Tharp, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Lar Lubovitch, Nacho Duato, Glen Tetley, James Kudelka, Roland Petit, David Parsons, Mark Morris, Merce Cunningham, Ronald Hynd, Frederick Ashton, Ulysses Dove and Lynn Taylor Corbett. In 2003, Ms. Jaffe co-founded the Princeton Dance & Theatre Studio in Princeton, New Jersey.

In 2004 Ms. Jaffe expanded into choreography. Her original creations for the school include a full-length version of “The Nutcracker,” “Pop Sonata,” “Ballet Studies,” “Tarantella,” “Glass Cuts,” “Carnival of the Animals,” and the “Cancan.” In 2005 Ms. Jaffe co-founded DanceVision Inc. a not for profit outreach and Youth Company in Princeton New Jersey. Ms. Jaffe choreographed contemporary works for Texas Christian University in 2008 and 2012, and Princeton University in 2010. Her works for professional companies include: Lemon Spongecake Contemporary Ballet, Meditations UnCaged, Configurations Dance Theater, Novem Pas de Deux, Velez Pas de Deux, and Royenne Pas de Deux. In the 2009 Gala for Youth America Grand Prix Sognato Pas de Deux was created for Isabella Boylston and Blaine Hoven of American Ballet Theatre. The year 2011 brought We Insist for the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of American Ballet Theater, a ballet later performed by the Studio Company of ABT in their 2011-12 season, along side of the new A Tango Pas de Deux. On the opening night 2012 gala of American Ballet Theatre, Ms. Jaffe created Blue Pas de Deux for Veronika Part and Thomas Forster. In the spring of 2013 Ms. Jaffe choreographed a newly envisioned Polovtsian Dances for UNCSA, which was performed in Chapel Hill for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Rite of Spring.

In September 2013 Ms. Jaffe will choreograph a new ballet for Company C Contemporary Ballet Company. Ms. Jaffe’s written publications include Becoming a Ballerina, a children’s book published in 2003. On December 18th 2010, she received an Honorary Doctorate from Texas Christian University. Ms. Jaffe taught corporate lectures on Excellence in conjunction with Duke Corporate Education for Lehman Brothers, and PriceWaterHouseCoopers. She joined the roster of American Ballet Theatre once again as a Ballet Master from 2010-2012 until her appointment as Dean of Dance of UNCSA in August of 2012.

In a career spanning six decades, ballet legend Finis Jhung has left his mark on Broadway, in film, and on stages across the world. While still a dancer, he studied with the greats—Valentina Pereyaslavec, Vera Volkova, Stanley Williams, Erik Bruhn, Rosella Hightower, and David Howard—and danced in the San Francisco Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, and the Harkness Ballet. He danced for presidents and dignitaries and eventually founded and choreographed for his own ballet company. Now in the second phase of his career as a renowned and beloved dance instructor, Finis has taught everyone from prima ballerinas and Broadway stars to adult beginners. His goal is to make ballet accessible to everyone, to create innovative ways of teaching, and to inspire present and future generations of dancers. Not content with life in the studio, he has created more than 50 instructional dance videos, produced 18 music CDs, and authored The Finis Jhung Ballet Technique: A Guide for Teachers & Students—all so that aspiring dancers of every level can learn his techniques, without ever leaving home. In Ballet For Life: A Pictorial Memoir, he shares his own story for the first time, starting from humble roots in World War II Hawaii.

Virginia Johnson returns to Dance Theatre of Harlem as artistic director having been a founding member and principal dancer. Born in Washington, DC, Johnson graduated from the Academy of the Washington School of Ballet. She briefly attended the School of the Arts at New York University as a University Scholar before joining DTH in 1969.

During her 28 years with the company she performed most of the repertoire, with principal roles in Concerto Barocco, Allegro Brillante, Agon, A Streetcar Named Desire, Fall River Legend, Swan Lake, Giselle, Voluntaries, Les Biches among others. Three DTH productions in which she danced leading roles were recorded for broadcast: A Streetcar Named Desire for Dance in America on PBS, Creole Giselle, which was the first full-length ballet broadcast on NBC, and Fall River Legend, which won a cable ACE award from the Bravo Network. In addition, she was included in two acclaimed television dance series, Margot Fonteyn’s “The Magic of Dance” and Natalia Makarova’s “Ballerina.”

Her choreographic credits include the television film, Ancient Voices of Children in which she danced and an early, self-produced solo concert for Rae Metzger’s Concert Socials. Later choreographic works include ballets created for Goucher College, Dancers Respond to AIDS, the Second Annual Harlem Festival of the Arts, Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center and Marymount Manhattan College, where she was also an adjunct professor. The latter two projects were an outgrowth of Dancers Making Dances, a collaborative choreographic project with former DTH colleagues, Judy Tyrus and Melanie Person While still performing, her interest in journalism led her to Fordham University where she continues to pursue a degree in communications.

After retiring from performing, she founded POINTE magazine and was editor-in-chief from 2000-2009. The popular publication helps dancers prepare for the professional ballet world developing educational seminars and lectures on health and wellness for dancers, auditions and professional preparation. Her honors include a Young Achiever Award from the National Council of Women, Outstanding Young Woman of America and the Dance Magazine Award, a Pen and Brush Achievement Award and the Washington Performing Arts Society’s 2008-2009 Pola Nirenska Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2009 Martha Hill Fund Mid-Career Award. Highlights of her guest appearances include a tour of Australia with Stars of World Ballet, several appearances at various International Festivals of Dance in Havana Cuba, and with the Royal Ballet at The Royal Opera House in London. Her commitment to community service is maintained through volunteer assignments with New York Cares.

Ballet Master and Repetiteur:
Hailing from Staunton, Virginia, James’ early years revolved around music and theatre before beginning his formal dance training at the Richmond Ballet and North Carolina School of the Arts until he was recruited by Todd Bolender for his first company of dancers in Kansas City.  During his years as principal dancer with Kansas City Ballet, James also performed with The Santa Fe Opera, Santa Dance Company and several companies in and near the New York area.  His career then led him to press relations for public television in New York, prior to his return to Kansas City in 1991 as ballet master.  James served in that capacity for 23 years, collaborating with
dozens of choreographers and stagers from around the globe.  While in Kansas City, James began his work with the Antony Tudor Ballet Trust under the guidance of Trustee Sally Brayley Bliss.  He traveled extensively learning
many Tudor ballets from senior repetiteur Donald Mahler as he worked with ballet companies across the nation.  James most recently staged Gala Performance for Sarasota Ballet in April 2014.  In 2000, James received his BFA from the UMKC Conservatory and has taught and choreographed extensively at numerous universities and schools.  He also serves as the Artistic Trustee of all Bolender ballets.  James sees his recent appointment as ballet master for Sarasota Ballet as opening a new chapter of artistic excellence under the leadership of Iain Webb and Margaret Barbieri.

Alonzo King has been called a visionary choreographer, who is altering the way we look at ballet. King calls his works ‘thought structures’ created by the manipulation of energies that exist in matter through laws, which govern the shapes and movement directions of everything that exists.

King has works in the repertories of the Swedish Royal Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, Ballet Bejart, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, Joffrey Ballet, Alvin Ailey, Hong Kong Ballet, NCDT, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago among others.  He has worked extensively in opera, television, and film. Known for collaborations, seminal works include People of the Forest (2001), choreographed with Baka artists from Central African Republic and Long River High Sky(2007), with China’s Shaolin Monks. He has collaborated with actor Danny Glover, legendary jazz saxophonist Pharaoh Sanders, Hamza al Din,Pawel Szymanski, Jason Moran, and tabla master Zakir Hussain. Renowned for his skill as a teacher, Mr. King has been guest ballet master for dance companies around the globe. In 2012 King was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the CORPS de Ballet International Teacher Conference.

King is the director of the international touring Company, Alonzo King LINES Ballet housed in San Francisco with the Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA at Dominican University of California, Training Program, Summer Program, and Dance Center.

Alonzo King is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the first ever Barney Choreographic Prize from White Bird Dance in April 2013. In October 2012 the San Francisco Museum & Historical Society named Alonzo King a “San Francisco Treasure” in recognition of the significant contributions he has made to the historic fabric of San Francisco over the last 30 years. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom presented the Mayor’s Art Award to Alonzo King in October 2008, calling him a “San Francisco treasure.” In June 2008, Alonzo King was honored with the Jacob’s Pillow Creativity Award, in recognition of his contribution to “moving ballet in a very 21st-century direction”. In 2006, King received the US Artists award, and in 2005, received New York’s Bessie Award for Choreographer/Creator. He is also the recipient of the NEA Choreographer’s Fellowship, Irvine Fellowship in Dance, National Dance Project and the National Dance Residency Program, as well as several Isadora Duncan Awards. He has received the Hero Award from Union Bank, the Los Angeles Lehman Award, and the Excellence Award from KGO, and was chosen a recipient of the San Francisco Foundation’s 2007 Community Leadership Award.

In 2014 King was appointed to the advisory council of the newly established Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University; and in 2005 he was named a Master of Choreography by the Kennedy Center. King is a former commissioner for the city and county of San Francisco, and a writer and lecturer on the art of dance. He was awarded the Green Honors Chair Professorship from Texas Christian University, and holds honorary Doctorates from Dominican University of California and California Institute of the Arts.

In 2015 King received the Doris Duke Artist Award and was named one of America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures by the Dance Heritage Coalition.

Raymond Lukens had an international career as a ballet dancer. As a performer, Lukens toured extensively and danced in works choreographed by Nijinska, Van Dyk, Balanchine, Skibine, Petipa and Bournonville, among others. When he retired from the stage, Lukens earned teaching qualifications, acquiring in the UK, the Enrico Cecchetti Diploma and a Fellowship of The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. For ABT, Lukens created the syllabi for the ABT/New York University Masters Degree in ABT Ballet Pedagogy; was faculty member of the ABT JKO School; and Ballet Master for the ABT Studio Company. Before joining ABT, Lukens was Director of Boston Ballet II, and Ballet Master for Boston Ballet, and for the ballet companies in Hartford, Cincinnati and Calgary’s Alberta Ballet; he staged ballets from the classical repertoire and by choreographers, Kirk Peterson and Stanton Welch. Lukens has taught for American Ballet Theatre, ABT Studio Company, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Juilliard School, Dance Theater of Harlem, National Ballet of Uruguay and The Basel Ballet School. Together with Franco De Vita, Lukens directed the Hamlyn School of Dance in Florence, Italy, and authored The ABT National Training Curriculum. Lukens travels worldwide teaching and examining the ABT National Training Curriculum; and is a guest teacher in various schools in the United States, Latin America and in Europe.  Lukens was named the 2015 Lucia Chase Fellow in the School of Dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Alicia Graf Mack began her inaugural season as Dean and Director of Juilliard Dance in the fall of 2018. Before assuming that role, Alicia enjoyed a distinguished career as a principal dancer of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theatre of Harlem and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Ms. Graf Mack has danced as a guest performer with Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, Beyoncé, John Legend, Andre 3000, Alicia Keys and Jon Batiste, in addition to numerous appearances in galas, festivals and nationally aired television shows. Alicia is the recipient of the prestigious 2023 Dance Magazine Award.

Ms. Graf Mack graduated magna cum laude with honors in history from Columbia University and holds an MA in nonprofit management from Washington University in St. Louis. As a dance educator, Ms. Graf Mack was an assistant professor at Webster University in 2010-2011 and 2015-2018, and taught as adjunct faculty at the University of Houston and Washington University in St. Louis. She is a co-founder of D(n)A Arts Collective, an initiative created with her sister to enrich the lives of young dancers through master classes and intensives. Alicia Graf Mack is the proud co-producer and host of a new podcast, Moving Moments, featuring authentic conversations with some of the most celebrated, ground-breaking artists in the field of dance.

Amanda McKerrow has enjoyed a career as one of America’s acclaimed ballerinas. She has the honor of being the first American to receive a gold medal at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow in 1981. Since then, she has been the recipient of numerous other awards, among them the Princess Grace Foundation Dance Fellowship and the New York Woman Award for Dance.

Ms. McKerrow was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and began her ballet training at the Twinbrook School of Ballet in Rockville, Maryland, where she completed the syllabus of the Royal Academy of Dance. She then spent two years at the Metropolitan Academy of Dance where she studied the acclaimed Vaganova syllabus. She then studied at the Washington School of Ballet, under the direction of Mary Day, where she danced with the company for two years, touring extensively throughout the United States and Europe.

Ms. McKerrow joined American Ballet Theatre in 1982 under the direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov. She was appointed Soloist in 1983, and became a Principal Dancer in 1987. Her repertoire included the leading roles in Cinderella, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Manon, La Bayadere, Coppelia, Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, La Sylphide, and The Nutcracker. She has received acclaim for her performances in shorter works by Antony Tudor, George Balanchine, Sir Frederick Ashton, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Jerome Robbins, and Juri Killian. Ms. McKerrow has created roles in ballets by choreographers such as Agnes DeMille, Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Clark Tippet, Choo San Goh, and James Kudelka. She has also appeared extensively as a guest artist with ballet companies around the world.

In 2000, after having worked closely with him during his lifetime, Ms. McKerrow began staging the works of Antony Tudor for the Antony Tudor Ballet Trust. She also stages the ballets of Agnes DeMille and Benjamin Millepied, as well as the full length classics such as, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, and Don Quixote. After retiring from performing in 2006, she devotes the majority of her time to teaching, coaching, and staging ballets for professional companies around the world. Among them, American Ballet Theatre, Atlanta Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet and Colorado Ballet. She is married to fellow dancer and repetiteur, John Gardner