Jane Wood

Organization: Ballet West

Position: Principal Rehearsal Director

Affiliation with organization: 2011 – Present

Years active at YAGP: 2022 – Present

Born in Washington, DC, Jane received her formative training at the Washington School of Ballet with Mary Day, Alice Bralove and Julio de Bittencourt. At 15, she was invited to perform with the Grand Theatre de Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland, where she performed numerous Balanchine ballets under the direction of Patricia Neary and George Balanchine. After returning to the States, Jane continued her studies at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, as a ballet major on a Ballet West Guild scholarship. She joined the corps de ballet of Ballet West in 1981 and rose through the ranks to Principal Dancer in 1986, where she performed until 2001. Jane performed title roles in Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Cinderella, Coppelia, Giselle, and Lady of the Camelias, as well as a full range of classical and contemporary works by world renowned choreographers, including George Balanchine, John Neumeier, Val Caniparoli, Peter Anastos, and Lila York, to name a few. During Jane’s last year of dancing with Ballet West, she completed her B.F.A. in Ballet with a Performance Emphasis, and joined the faculty of the ballet department at the University of Utah. From 2001-2003 she served on the faculty at Florida State University as a Visiting Assistant Professor. Returning to Utah, Jane continued to teach at the University of Utah, for Ballet West company class and for the Ballet West Academy. In 2011, Jane was invited by Adam Sklute, Artistic Director of Ballet West, to join the artistic staff of Ballet West as Ballet Mistress. With her current title as Rehearsal Director of Ballet West, Jane teaches the main company and second company, restages and rehearses the current repertoire, performs character roles and teaches in the Ballet West Academy Summer Intensives.