Former ballerina Susan Jaffe to lead American Ballet Theatre

By JOCELYN NOVECK
AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — American Ballet Theatre has named its first new artistic director in 30 years. Susan Jaffe, who was a celebrated ballerina at ABT for more than two decades, takes over from Kevin McKenzie in December. In addition to her 22 years as a principal dancer at ABT — one of the top classical ballet companies in the world — Jaffe danced as a guest with companies across the globe like the Royal Ballet, the Kirov, the Stuttgart Ballet, La Scala and many others. She says she aims to increase access and inclusivity in the overwhelmingly white world of classical ballet.