Courtney Shealy, Tyler Maloney, and Carlos Gonzalez. Photo: J.J. Geiger.

NEW YORK, NY (April 6, 2022) — American Ballet Theatre’s in-house choreographic program, ABT Incubator, is scheduled for April 11-22, 2022, with new works to be created on ABT dancers by four choreographers. The workshop was announced today by ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

Directed by American Ballet Theatre dancer Jose Sebastian, the 2022 ABT Incubator, held at the Company’s New York studios, will feature new works by ABT dancers Claire Davison and Courtney Shealy, and choreographers Raymond Pinto and Quinn Wharton. Participating choreographers were chosen in November 2021 through an audition process, with selections made by McKenzie, Sebastian, ABT Associate Artistic Director Clinton Luckett, choreographer Gemma Bond, and ABT Studio Company Artistic Director Sascha Radetsky.

Choreographers for ABT Incubator will be provided resources to create new work on dancers from American Ballet Theatre, including studio space, a stipend, collaborators, panel discussions, and mentors.

“One of the interesting things about this year’s group of talented creators is their spectrum of experience,” said Sebastian. “For some, this will be their first time, for others a second venture, and some are more seasoned. This alone guarantees an exciting ABT Incubator season.”

Claire Davison (she/her) began her ballet training at the Boulder Ballet School and attended Boston Ballet School, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, School of American Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet School summer programs. She was a finalist at the 2009 Youth America Grand Prix competition. Davison joined the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in 2010, was named an apprentice with the main Company in 2012, and appointed to the corps de ballet in June 2013. Her repertoire with ABT includes Berthe in Giselle, Good Fairy in Harlequinade, Madame in Manon, Nanny and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, the Queen Mother in Swan Lake, and a featured role in Deuce Coupe. Davison participated in ABT’s Innovation Initiative in 2014 and ABT Incubator in 2019. Her choreographic credits include One of Us (2019) for Boulder Ballet and Por Ti for Kaatsbaan Cultural Park’s 2021 Summer Festival. In 2021, Davison was a selected choreographer for New York Theatre Ballet’s Lift Lab. This year, she will choreograph a ballet on American Repertory Ballet, set to Fleetwood Mac music, and create a one-woman show, “Crash Test Dummy.”

Raymond Pinto (he/they) is an artist and choreographer based in the tri-state area. They graduated from the Juilliard School with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and danced professionally for companies in North America and Europe. They are a YoungArts awardee and Princess Grace Award recipient. They hold a master’s degree in Performance Studies from NYU. Their work has been presented at the Royal Ballet of Flanders, Amsterdam Fringe Festival, Cue Art Foundation, MoMA PS1, the Venice Biennale, and Judson Memorial Church. In an ever-changing world, they look forward to continuing to create work that resonates with social and political values of our contemporary times.

Courtney Shealy (she/her) trained with Northwest Florida Ballet for nine years. She also trained at Boston Ballet, Next Generation Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and American Ballet Theatre summer intensives. She received third place at the 2014 Youth America Grand Prix semi-final for both senior classical and contemporary. Shealy joined ABT Studio Company in September 2015, became an apprentice with the main Company in August 2016, and joined the corps de ballet in January 2017. Her repertoire includes Aya and Lead D’Jampe in La Bayadère, the Canteen Keeper and Spanish Dance in The Nutcracker, Lead Czardas in Swan Lake, and a featured role in Deuce Coupe. She created Plangon in Of Love and Rage and a featured role in A Time There Was.

Quinn Wharton (he/him) is a professional choreographer, photographer, and filmmaker. He received his early training with Pacific Northwest Ballet School, West Hawaii Dance Theater, and North Carolina School of the Arts. He joined San Francisco Ballet (SFB) in 2005. With SFB, he performed leading roles and created roles in works by William Forsythe, Mark Morris, Christopher Wheeldon, Paul Taylor, Wayne McGregor, Val Caniparoli, and Helgi Tomasson. Wharton also launched a photo and film business for dance and tech companies in the Bay area, including LINES Ballet, Airbnb, Square, Inc, Google, and San Jose Ballet. In 2012, he joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, working with Mats Ek, Glen Edgerton, Robyn Mineko Williams, Penny Saunders, and Alonzo King. After leaving Hubbard Street, Wharton created films for the Rolex Arts Initiative and Bolshoi Ballet. He has lectured at Stanford and the Booth School of Business on human movement and its potential for leadership.

For more information, please visit: www.abt.org/abtincubator

ABOUT AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE

American Ballet Theatre is one of the greatest dance companies in the world. Revered as a national treasure since its founding season in 1940, its mission is to create, present, preserve, and extend the great repertoire of classical dancing for the widest possible audience. Headquartered in New York City, ABT is the only cultural institution of its size and stature to extensively tour, enchanting audiences for eight decades in 50 U.S. states, 45 countries, and over 480 cities worldwide. ABT’s repertoire includes full-length classics from the nineteenth century, the finest works from the early twentieth century, and acclaimed contemporary masterpieces. In 2006, by an act of Congress, ABT was designated America’s National Ballet Company®.

Find out more at ABT.org and follow ABT dancers at @abtofficial on Instagram, on Twitter at @ABTBallet, and on Facebook at @AmericanBalletTheatre

ABT Incubator is presented thanks to support from American Express. 

Commissions and presentations of new work by women choreographers are supported by the ABT Women’s Movement. Champion support for the ABT Women’s Movement is provided by Jenna Segal. Additional leadership support is provided by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

ABT’s Choreographic Innovation and Inspiration and Inclusion programs are generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. Additional major support of ABT’s Innovation and Inclusion programs is provided by Mark Casey and Carrie Gaiser Casey, the Ford Foundation, The Ted and Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund and through an endowed gift from the Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

Special thanks to Denise Littlefield Sobel for her leadership gifts to: ABT’s Media Fund, advancing the Company’s digital endeavors; and ABT RISE, fueling the Company’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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