Julie Kent (dancer) Ballet Theatre II summer school and the School of American Ballet. She took the stage name Julie Kent at the suggestion of Mikhail Baryshnikov. Kent joined American Ballet Theatre as an apprentice in 1985, became a member of the company's corps de ballet in 1986, was promoted to soloist in 1990, and to principal dancer in 1993. She is known as a skilled dramatic dancer. She was often partnered with ABT Principal Ethan Stiefel, even co-starring with him in the film Center Stage. Her roles with the Company include the Girl in "Afternoon of a Faun", the title role in
Atlanta Ballet as Atlanta Ballet. In 1994, Robert Barnett retired from his role as artistic director and John McFall accepted the position. The focus of the company has shifted to include education. In September 2015, the Atlanta Ballet Board of Trustees chair Allen W. Nelson announced artistic director John McFall would be leaving the organization. McFall joined Atlanta Ballet in 1994. In February 2016, Atlanta Ballet announced Gennadi Nedvigin, principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet would be joining the organization in August 2016. Nedvigin was born in Rostov, Russia, trained with The Bolshoi Ballet Academy and danced with Jeune Ballet de