SALLY ROUSSE
(Co-Founder and Dancer, 19th season), began dancing in Barre, Vermont. She trained at the
School of American Ballet and with David Howard before performing as a leading dancer with Ballet Chicago, the Royal Ballet of Flanders, and James Sewell
Ballet, which she helped establish in 1990. In addition to many roles in the classical and Balanchine repertoires, Sally has danced works by Maurice Béjart, Jiri
Kylian, and more than 75 works

created for her by contemporary
choreographers. In 1994, she began studying and performing Improvisation and Contact Improvisation, primarily with Patrick Scully and Chris Aiken, aiming to draw upon a larger movement palette to extend the definitions, aesthetics, and relevance of ballet and ballerina. She received a McKnight Artist Fellowship for Dancers (2001). Sally’s work as a choreographer has been supported by diverse venues and organizations: the Southern Theater, Walker Arts Center, VocalEssence, Marshall Field’s, Harvard’s American Repertory Theatre, St. Paul’s School, the Cartoon Channel, Nickelodeon, Omaha Ballet, James Sewell Ballet, 3-Legged Race, the Jerome Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the McKnight Foundation. She co-created the aerial/dance/theater pieces “Floor Show” (2003) with Homer Avila and “Awedville” (2004) with James Sewell. “Trickpony” (2002), her collaboration with Chelsea Bacon, headed the 2002 list of top ten dance events in Minneapolis/St. Paul.