Michele Gifford

The American Michele Gifford began her training with Ann Etgen and Bill Atkinson. At the age of 16 she received a scholarship to the School of American Ballet in New York. Two years later she was engaged by the New York City Ballet, where she danced a variety of solo roles within 12 years and choreographers such as Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins or Christopher Wheeldon created especially for her. In 2000 she joined the Texas Ballet Theatre as First Soloist under the direction of Ben Stevenson. While still an active dancer, she founded her own Gyrotonic Studio. As a ballet master, she has performed with Ballet West, Boston Ballet, Next Generation Ballet, Mejia International Ballet and Indiana University. She also works as a rehearsal teacher for the Balanchine Trust and for Christopher Wheeldon.

In the 2021/22 season, Michele Gifford will be responsible for the rehearsal of Christopher Wheeldon's choreography "Polyphonia" at the Ballett am Rhein.