Jonathan Stafford and Wendy Whelan Will Lead New York City Ballet

February 27, 2019

Well over a year after the retirement of Peter Martins, New York City Ballet has announced that former principal dancer Jonathan Stafford will lead the company and its affiliated School of American Ballet as artistic director. Fellow former principal Wendy Whelan will serve as associate artistic director.

Since last January, Stafford has helmed the interim leadership team, including Justin Peck, Craig Hall and Rebecca Krohn. And while he has led the company through a challenging year, he’s still something of an unconventional choice. While he was a compelling, understated dancer, he was never a bona fide star, as directors of major companies typically are. Stafford is not a choreographer, either, though the company did state during the search that they weren’t necessarily looking for someone who would be making work.

Photo by Christopher Duggan, Courtesy Whelan

Whelan
has the star power that Stafford may be lacking. But it would be a misrepresentation of Whelan’s abilities and qualifications to say that she’s been hired for this purpose alone. In fact, many were hoping that Whelan would be named director herself—a petition to hire her received over 15,000 signatures. This may not be the glass ceiling-smashing that many were hoping for, but The New York Times reports that Stafford and Whelan will work as partners, with Stafford overseeing the day-to-day operations of the company and Whelan having a bigger hand in programming. Each independently told the search committee that they would be interested in working together.

Photo by Rosalie O’Connor via sab.org

Having Whelan at the helm of programming is sure to bring exciting changes. She told The Times that she’s interested in “more women choreographing, more diversity on stage, bigger ideas, more open ideas, more daring ideas.” Since retiring from NYCB, she’s worked with a wide range of choreographers—from Kyle Abraham to Lucinda Childs to Arthur Pita. If that’s any indication of what her seasons will look like, we’re in for some dynamic evenings at the ballet.

Both leaders said that improving the company’s culture is a top priority. The company’s board chairman Charles W. Scharf praised Stafford for the progress he’s already made in this area, having opened up communication between dancers and leadership and organizing the company’s first-ever performance reviews.

The news broke at a meeting with dancers this morning, where it was also announced that Peck would stop dancing for the company after the spring season, and will take the title of artistic advisor.

Stafford will begin his new position effective immediately, and Whelan will begin mid-March.