Artistic Staff Profiles
Julie Kent Artistic Director
choreographers such as Jiří Kylián, Nacho Duato, and Maurice Bejart. In 1995, Mr. Welch was named resident choreographer of The Australian Ballet. For his contributions to the world of dance, he was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) in June 2015. For Houston Ballet, he has choreographed more than 20 works, including a full-length narrative ballet Marie (2009), inspired by the life of the legendary Marie Antoinette, and spectacular stagings of Swan Lake (2006), La Bayadère (2010), Romeo and Juliet (2015), Giselle (2016), The Nutcracker (2016), and Sylvia (2019).
Julie Kent joined Houston Ballet as Artistic Director in July of 2023. The longest serving Ballerina in American Ballet Theatre’s 84-year history, she danced a vast repertoire of classical and neo-classical roles from 1985-2015, working closely with choreographers John Neumeier, Twyla Tharp, Lar Lubovitch, Stanton Welch AM, Alexei Ratmansky, Mark Morris, Nacho Duato, James Kudelka, Jorma Elo, Kevin McKenzie and others. Ms. Kent also danced as an international Guest Artist with the Mariinsky Theatre, New York City Ballet, Teatro alla Scala, Stuttgart Ballet, Berlin Staatsballett, Australian Ballet, Houston Ballet, Bayerisches Staatsballett, Teatro Colon, Ballet de Santiago and Tokyo Ballet. She won the Prix de Lausanne (1986), Erik Bruhn Prize (1993) and was the first American dancer ever to win the Prix Benois de la Danse (2000). In 2012, she received an Honorary Doctorate of Performing Arts from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from Dance Magazine and was conferred an Honorary Doctorate from American University’s College of Arts and Sciences in 2023. Ms. Kent also starred in the films Dancers (1987) and Centerstage (2000). From 2016-2023, she was Artistic Director of The Washington Ballet where she brought important classical and contemporary masterworks into the repertoire, commissioning over 26 world premieres. She married Victor Barbee, former Associate Artistic Director and Principal Dancer at ABT and former Associate Artistic Director of The Washington Ballet, in 1996 and they have 2 children.
Julie Kent Artistic Director
Ermanno Florio Music Director and Principal Conductor
Ermanno Florio has impressed both audiences and critics in the major centers of Europe, North America, and Asia. The extremely versatile Mr. Florio has well distinguished himself in genres of symphonic, operatic, and balletic repertoire. Mr. Florio maintains an active conducting schedule that has included extensive engagements with the world’s major ballet companies. In 1985, Mr. Florio was appointed Principal Conductor and Music Administrator of The National Ballet of Canada by Erik Bruhn and since 1992 has held the position of Music Director of Houston Ballet. From 1998 to 2001, Mr. Florio held the position of Music Director of American Ballet Theatre. In March 2004, Mr. Florio was appointed Music Director of Het Nationale Ballet in Amsterdam and currently continues his relationship with the company as Principal Guest Conductor. Mr. Florio’s extensive discography includes DVD releases of critically acclaimed performances of The Sleeping Beauty, La Sylphide, Onegin, Cinderella, The Merry Widow, Alice, The Nutcracker, La Ronde , and Le Corsaire with ABT, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Classical Program in the Performing Arts. Mr. Florio’s DVD recording of Don Quichotte with L’Orchestre de L’Opera National de Paris also won the Cannes Classical Music Award for Best DVD in the category of Concert and Ballet Recordings. Mr. Florio’s music arrangements include scores for Patrice Bart’s Tchaikovsky , Das Flammende Hertz , and Gustaf III; Stanton Welch’s Marie and La Bayadère; and Asami Maki’s La Dame aux Camelias . Simon Thew Associate Conductor and Music Director Designate Australian Conductor Simon Thew was a regular guest conductor with The Australian Ballet between 2013 and 2016, conducting performances in most of the company’s seasons during that time. In 2017 he accepted an invitation to become The Australian
Stanton Welch AM The Harris Masterson II Artistic Director
Ermanno Florio Music Director and Principal Conductor
Stanton Welch AM The Harris Masterson II Artistic Director
In July 2003, Australian Stanton Welch AM assumed leadership of Houston Ballet, America’s fifth-largest classical ballet company. Since he took the helm of the Company, Mr. Welch has revitalized Houston Ballet, bringing in new dancers, commissioning new works, and attracting a top-flight artistic staff. Mr. Welch has created works for such prestigious international companies as Houston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Australian Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet. Mr. Welch was born in Melbourne to Marilyn Jones OBE and Garth Welch AM, two of Australia’s most gifted dancers of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1989, he was engaged as a dancer with The Australian Ballet, where he rose to the rank of leading soloist, performing various principal roles. He has also worked with internationally acclaimed
Simon Thew Associate Conductor and Music Director Designate
16 HOUSTON BALLET
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