Positioning Ballet Foundation announces participants for Forum for Future Artistic Directors

Ted Brandsen and Assis Carreiro, Directors of Positioning Ballet Foundation, shared today the selected participants for the first Positioning Ballet Forum for future Artistic Directors. This event will take place from 7-9 November in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and will be hosted by Dutch National Ballet and Opera.

Positioning Ballet, a global conference, will welcome 34 individuals from 13 different countries.

The Forum attracted over 75 applicants from around the globe proving the huge need and demand for leadership training, support and development in the global ballet and dance community. 34 individuals were selected by an international panel which included David McAllister AM, Interim Artistic Director, West Australian Ballet; Sharon Watson MBE, CEO and Principal, Northern School of Contemporary Dance; Christopher Hampson CBE, Artistic Director and CEO, Scottish Ballet; as well as Brandsen and Carreiro.

The largest gathering of its kind, the Forum offers aspiring Artistic Leaders the opportunity to come together to learn, engage in vital discussions about leadership in ballet today and its multitude of challenges and responsibilities and more broadly, to delve deeply into this role for which there is no formal training. Discussions will be facilitated by Assis Carreiro, with additional facilitation by Peggy Olislaegers, Associate, Research and Development, Dutch National Ballet.

The Forum will feature an impressive panel of guest speakers, including Emily Molnar, Artistic Director of Netherlands Dance Theatre; Samuel Wuersten, Artistic & Executive Director, Holland Dance Festival; Christina Barandun, a systemic consultant, trainer and coach for theatre, opera, dance and orchestra. Other guest speakers are still to be confirmed.

Positioning Ballet was launched in 2017 by Ted Brandsen, Artistic Director of Dutch National Ballet as a follow on to Rural Retreats think tanks, initiated in 2003 by Assis Carreiro. The aim was to create a platform for exchange for Artistic Directors of ballet and dance companies around the world, who come together in a private environment to share issues, challenges, successes and concerns with their peers, as well as with external experts from the worlds of business, sport and the wider arts and cultural sectors.

Positioning Ballet Foundation was formally established in 2024 and provides a network supporting artistic leadership for Artistic Directors of ballet and dance institutions worldwide. Companies from around the globe are invited to sign up as Affiliates to the Foundation to support a stronger voice for ballet leadership. www.positioningballet.com

In partnership with the Finnish National Ballet and the Helsinki International Ballet Competition Association, the next conference for the leaders of ballet companies, schools and junior companies will take place in Helsinki, Finland, June 5 to 7, 2026.

PARTICIPANTS

Hannah Bateman               Northern School of Contemporary Dance/UK

Isabelle Brouwers              English National Ballet/UK

Guillaume Côté                  National Ballet of Canada/Canada

Craig Davidson                  Freelance/Australia

Jonatan Davidsson            Royal Swedish Ballet/Sweden

Aurora Dickie          Berlin Ballet/Germany

Celine Gittens                    Birmingham Royal Ballet/UK

Suzanne Haag                   Eugene Ballet/USA

Andreas Heise                   Freelance/Germany

Tiit Helimets                       San Francisco Ballet/USA

Greta Hodgkinson              National Ballet of Canada/Canada

Kit Holder                          Birmingham Royal Ballet/UK

Anna Hop                          Freelance/Poland

Melissa Hough                   Norwegian National Ballet/Norway

Uladzimir Ivanov                Brno Ballet/Czechia

Wubkje Kuindersma           Freelance/Netherlands

Sophie Laplane                  Scottish Ballet/Freelance/UK

Elza Leimane                     Latvian National Ballet/Latvia

Ludmila Pagliero                Paris Opera Ballet/France

Brett Parrish-Chynoweth    The Australian Ballet/Australia

François Petit                    Royal Conservatoire Dance, The Hague/Netherlands

Arthur Pita                         Freelance/UK

Stina Quagebeur                Freelance/UK

Lawrence Rigg                   Zurich Dance Academy/Switzerland

Alysson Rocha                  Ballet Dortmund/Germany

Julia Rowe                         San Francisco Ballet/USA

Morgann Runacre-Temple  Freelance/UK

Kauan Soares                    Ballet Am Rhein/Freelance/Germany

Leanne Stojmenov             West Australian Ballet/Australia

Dawid Trzensimiech           Polish National Ballet Junior/Poland

Lucas Valente                    Ballet Zurich/Switzerland

John Welker                      Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre/USA

Jessica Wright                   Freelance/UK

Valentino Zucchetti            The Royal Ballet/UK