Effective immediately, Edwaard Liang will become only the fourth Artistic Director in The Washington Ballet‘s 75-year history. He will be replacing Acting Artistic Director Trinidad Vives, overseeing both the company and its associated Washington School of Ballet as well as community engagement programs.
Liang, who is currently the Artistic Director of BalletMet, will finish the company’s 2023-2204 season – his 11th – while also paving his way in D.C. following in the footsteps of Washington Ballet leaders who came before him: Mary Day (1967–1999), Septime Webre (1999–2016), and Julie Kent (2016– 2023).
In a statement, Jean-Marie Fernandez, chair of The Washington Ballet’s
Board of Directors, said:
“Edwaard is a proven, visionary leader and deeply gifted artist who is uniquely prepared to nurture all aspects of The Washington Ballet — our world-class artists, our school and training programs, and the communities we serve.
Edwaard’s commitment to shaping the future of ballet perfectly aligns with our ambitions as a dynamic, diverse mid-sized ballet company with an outsized impact in our community and in the ballet world.”
Edwaard Liang to Leave BalletMet
“Edwaard is incredibly deserving of this new opportunity. I am so excited for him but, of course, sad that at the end of this season he won’t be part of our daily lives.
I am proud to have helped lead the search process that brought Edwaard to Columbus and could not be more proud of the work the Board and the BalletMet team have done to support Edwaard’s Artistic Vision over the last 11 seasons. Edwaard is a very special artist and leader who has made BalletMet a better organization.
We are in a strong place to recruit our next Artistic Director. We are excited for what the future holds and BalletMet will immediately start an international search for our next Artistic Director led by former Board Chair Susan Douglass. Our goal is to have that talent in place by next summer.”
– Sue Porter, Executive Director of BalletMet.
Featured Photo of Edwaard Liang from The Washington Ballet website. Photo by Chiun-Kai Shih.
