Contemporary Ballet | Artist Faculty
June 22 – June 29
Jodie Gates is an artistic director, choreographer, producer, arts educator, stager, and dancer. She was a principal dancer with Joffrey Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet, as well as an international guest artist. Most recently, she was the Artistic Director of the Cincinnati Ballet. Currently, she is the Founder and Artistic Director of Laguna Dance, a non-profit organization based in Laguna Beach, CA, and Founding Director of the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance in Los Angeles, CA.
Jodie is an accomplished choreographer with commissions from companies such as Staatsballett Berlin, Ballet West, BalletX, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Colorado Ballet, and the Vail International Dance Festival. Additionally, she choreographs for television commercials and site-specific events, notably including work with singer/songwriter John Legend, and choreography for a global ad campaign for Los Angeles Tourism. She is an artistic collaborator alongside William Forsythe, staging and teaching ballets for Forsythe Productions internationally with companies such as the Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Houston Ballet, Het National Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Teatro alla Scala Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Zurich Ballet, among others.
Jodie’s performing career began with the Joffery Ballet in New York City, where she originated many roles and worked with a large roster of renowned choreographers. She is featured in several publications and has appeared in numerous television programs and dance festivals. Guest appearances include galas hosted by The Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg Russia, dancing Odette/Odile alongside Fernando Bujones in Swan Lake with Ballet de Monterrey Mexico, and dancing the role of Juliet in John Cranko’s Romeo & Juliet at the Lincoln Center in New York City, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and The Music Center in Los Angeles. Her dance festival credits include Spoleto, Italy, The Edinburgh Festival, The Nijinsky Festival in Hamburg, Germany, and The Melbourne Festival in Australia. She has danced at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Bockenheimer Depot in Frankfurt, Germany, Theatre du Chatelet and Theatre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, and established venues in the United States.
Jodie received a Psychology of Leadership Certificate from Cornell University SC Johnson College of Business and studied with the Higher Education Leadership Program for Women at Bryn Mawr College. Jodie was a tenured Professor at the University of Southern California and University of California, Irvine. Her honors include recognition for Arts Leadership by the American Association of University Women, Altria/ABT Fellowship from the American Ballet Theatre, and is a recipient of the esteemed Jerome Robbins New Essential Works Program. Most recently, she was awarded the distinguished 2022 Residency Fellowship from The Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University. Her Fellowship and research addressed systemic inequities inherent within the culture of ballet and focused on empowering dancers to approach the form with individuality and autonomy while fostering inclusivity.
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