Jay Jolley  
Organization: The Royal Ballet School (United Kingdom)

Position: Programme Manager

Affiliation with organization: 1999 – Present

Years active at YAGP: 2013 – 2018

Contact: Facebook

 

Jay Jolley began his training in Utah and went on to study with William Christensen, the co-founder of the San Francisco Ballet. He first performed with Ballet West before moving to the New York City Ballet. Encouraged by Rudolf Nureyev to come to London, he joined London Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet)and later joined The Royal Ballet as Principal Dancer. After a highly successful dance career, Mr. Jolley moved into business administration and became Company Manager for Birmingham Royal Ballet. In 1996 he joined The Royal Ballet School as Ballet Administrator, becoming Assistant Director to Gailene Stock AM in 1999. Mr. Jolley initiated the Outreach and Access department and was instrumental in the development of the White Lodge Museum and Ballet Resource Centre, which was the first dedicated ballet museum in the UK; and the Ninette de Valois: Adventurous Traditionalist Conference, which aimed to facilitate a rigorous and multi-disciplinary exploration of de Valois’ life and legacy.