Founding Artistic Director
Ballet Tampa | Tampa Bay, Florida
Founding Appointment | Inaugural Season 2027–28

Ballet Tampa is seeking a Founding Artistic Director to help build a new professional resident classical ballet company serving the Tampa Bay region.

Our inaugural model calls for 14 professional dancers, six funded apprentices, 34-week contracts, classical masterworks, newly commissioned works, and live musical accompaniment.

This is a rare opportunity for an experienced ballet professional to do more than lead a company. It’s an opportunity to help create one.

The Opportunity

Working closely with Ballet Tampa’s Board leadership and executive leadership, the Founding Artistic Director will help establish the artistic identity, standards and culture of the company and guide its development through its inaugural seasons.

Responsibilities will include:

• Shaping inaugural repertoire and programming
• Planning and leading auditions and selecting Ballet Tampa’s first company of dancers and apprentices
• Establishing artistic, company-class and rehearsal standards
• Identifying and working with choreographers, répétiteurs, coaches and other artistic collaborators
• Guiding the development of new productions
• Advising on artistic staffing and production requirements
• Helping establish a professional company culture in which artists are treated with dignity and respect
• Serving as an artistic ambassador for Ballet Tampa during its launch and early development.

Ballet Tampa will be grounded unapologetically in the classical ballet tradition, while commissioning new choreography and creating original work that carries that tradition forward.

Who We Are Looking For

We are particularly interested in experienced artistic directors, associate artistic directors, ballet masters/mistresses, rehearsal directors and other accomplished ballet professionals with deep knowledge of classical ballet and substantial professional networks.

A retired or semi-retired artistic leader interested in applying a lifetime of experience to the creation of a new institution may be especially well suited to this opportunity.

The ideal candidate will combine high artistic standards with an entrepreneurial spirit, sound judgment about dancers and repertoire, strong relationships throughout the professional ballet community, and an enthusiasm for building something from the ground up.

Location and Commitment

Permanent relocation to Tampa is not required for the Founding Artistic Director appointment.

The Founding Artistic Director may maintain a primary residence elsewhere while spending significant periods in Tampa during key artistic activities, including auditions, company formation, rehearsal and creation periods, and productions.

Ballet Tampa anticipates developing resident artistic staff to oversee daily company class, rehearsal and repertoire maintenance under the Founding Artistic Director’s leadership.

The precise schedule and level of in-person residency will be developed with the selected candidate based upon the needs of the company and the Founding Artistic Director’s availability.

A Founding Appointment

Ballet Tampa is currently in its capitalization and development stage. Initial compensation for the Founding Artistic Director will therefore be deferred and contingent upon the organization achieving established funding milestones, with the intention that the position transition to a fully compensated artistic leadership appointment as the professional company launches for the 2027-28 season.

The initial appointment is envisioned around the company’s development period and first two professional seasons, with the possibility of continued leadership by mutual agreement.

Build Something That Does Not Yet Exist

The Founding Artistic Director will have an unusual opportunity to influence the DNA of a new professional ballet company:

• Select its first dancers
• Establish its artistic standards
• Shape its repertoire
• Build its company culture
• Create its first productions
• Help establish professional classical ballet as a permanent part of Tampa Bay’s cultural landscape

Opportunities to lead established ballet companies arise from time to time. Opportunities to build one are rare.

For the right artistic leader, Ballet Tampa offers the chance to take a career’s worth of knowledge, artistry and relationships and use them to create an institution designed to endure for generations.

Interested candidates are invited to submit a professional biography or résumé and a brief expression of interest via the form below. Initial conversations will be confidential.