American Ballet Theater’s Susan Jaffe, onstage and off

Susan Jaffe is a former ballerina who performed for 22 years as a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. She is known for iconic roles such as Swan Lake’s Odette and Odile, Kitri in Don Quixote, and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. Jaffe has performed internationally and her repertoire includes the works of iconic choreographers such as George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, and Merce Cunningham. After retiring from the stage, Jaffe previously served as the dean for the School of Dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and as the artistic director of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. In our conversation, Jaffe shares how she got her start as a ballerina, the impact legendary dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov had on her career, and what it was like reviving ABT after the Covid-19 pandemic.

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