Leadership

Susan Jaffe

Artistic Director

Declared by The New York Times as “America’s Quintessential American Ballerina,” Susan Jaffe enjoyed a career as a Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre for 22 years. She performed on the international stage with the Royal Ballet, the Kirov Ballet, the Stuttgart Ballet, La Scala Ballet, Vienna State Opera Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, and the English National Ballet. Her versatility as a dancer brought acclaimed interpretations to ballet classics, such as Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty, and dramatic works by Agnes de Mille, Antony Tudor, John Cranko, Ronald Hynd, and Kenneth MacMillan. She also worked with many prominent contemporary choreographers of her time, such as Twyla Tharp, Jerome Robbins, Merce Cunningham, Nacho Duato, Mark Morris, Ulysses Dove, and Jiří Kylián.

After retiring from the stage in 2002, Jaffe taught in the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School and served as an advisor to the chairman of the board of ABT until 2007. In 2010 she became a Director of Repertoire at ABT. Two years later, she was appointed Dean of Dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) in Winston-Salem, NC, a position she held for eight years. During her tenure at UNCSA, Jaffe and her faculty implemented a syllabus based on the ABT National Training Curriculum and established the Choreographic Institute of UNCSA. Additionally, she raised $3.5 million in endowed scholarships and other scholarships.

In 2020 Jaffe was appointed the Artistic Director of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. She helped to lead the company through the pandemic with digital programs, outdoor performances, and performances in museums. As audiences began returning to theaters, Jaffe curated programs that included classic ballets and diverse, innovative voices of today.

Jaffe was appointed Artistic Director of American Ballet Theatre in December 2022.

Janet Rollé

CEO & Executive Director

Janet Rollé was appointed CEO & Executive Director at American Ballet Theatre effective January 3, 2022. She joined ABT after serving over five years as General Manager at Parkwood Entertainment, the media and management company founded by entertainer and entrepreneur, Beyoncé. During her tenure at Parkwood, Rollé led all business operations for the company which houses departments in music, film, video, live performances and concert production, artist management, business development, marketing, digital, creative, philanthropy, and publicity. Her role included oversight of strategic partnerships, legal and business affairs, marketing, finance, human resources, archive, and information technology for all Parkwood businesses and artists. She was Associate Producer of Beyoncé’s history-making performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (2018) and of the subsequent Emmy® Award-winning film distributed by Netflix, Homecoming (2019). She was an Executive Producer of the Emmy®-winning film Black Is King.

Rollé previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at CNN Worldwide, leading a staff of 110 and overseeing the promotion of all CNN brands and programming. Rollé was the first Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of BET Networks and has also served in senior positions at AOL, MTV Networks, and HBO. She serves on the board of directors of BuzzFeed, Inc. and Hallmark Cards, Inc. In addition, Rollé was previously a Presidential Appointee and member of the Nominating Committee of the United States Tennis Association.

Rollé received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the State University of New York at Purchase and an MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business. She was named “10 Who Made Their Mark” and a “Woman to Watch” by Advertising Age magazine. She is the recipient of the Institute for Caribbean Studies Trailblazer Award and the Pat Tobin Media Professional Award from the National Association of Black Journalists. She was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from The University of the West Indies.