Janet Rollé, formerly CEO of Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment for five years, will be the new CEO and Executive Director of the American Ballet Theater. Her role takes effect on January 3, 2022, and her hiring marks the first time a person of color has run the company.
Rollé credited her mother, an immigrant from Jamaica, with laying the foundations for her career, taking her to her first dance class at the age of 8.
She continued, âIt is therefore a singular privilege to be charged by the board with preserving and expanding the legacy of the American Ballet Theater, and ensuring its future prosperity, cultural impact and relevance. To come full circle and be able to give back to the art that has given me so much is a source of unbridled and immense joy. “
Rollé was also executive vice president and chief marketing officer at CNN Worldwide.
Andrew Barth, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, said Rollé was perfectly positioned to lead ABT, given his training in dance and his experience as an executive.
“She’s brimming with ideas for leading ABT into the next decade, while respecting the history and legacy of the Ballet Theater,” Barth said in a statement. âI am confident that Janet’s accomplished experience in operations and business development, strategic partnerships and brand management will be a tremendous asset. “
“At 7, being a black girl in their school, and their teachers tell them ‘You don’t fit here, your skin is the wrong color, your feet are too flat … we don’t. can’t work with your hair, âCopeland said.
âI’ve heard over and over again the damaging stereotypes that black dancers aren’t flexible enough or don’t have the right feet, or Asian dancers aren’t expressive enough,â Gomes wrote. “Ballet is still designed for white dancers, right down to the shoes and makeup that we wear. Nude-colored ballet shoes for black dancers did not exist until 2018.”