Declared by the New York Times as “America’s quintessential American ballerina,” Susan Jaffe led a renowned career as principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre (ABT) 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 like Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty, as well as to the dramatic works of Agnes de Mille, Antony Tudor, John Cranko, Ronald Hynd and Kenneth MacMillian. After retiring from the stage in 2002, Ms. Jaffe served as an advisor to the chairman of the board of ABT until 2007, and became an ABT Rehearsal Director in 2010. Additionally, in 2003, she co-founded and co -directed Princeton Dance and Theater Studio and DanceVision in Princeton New Jersey. In 2012, Ms. Jaffe 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. In July 2020, Ms. Jaffe took the helm as Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Artistic Director. Now Ms. Jaffe is the incoming Artistic Director of American Ballet Theatre. She takes the helm in December of 2022.