Sally Rousse

Instructor - Adult Ballet & Zena Rommett Floor Barre®

Sally Rousse received two McKnight Fellowships for Dancers, a Sage Award for Outstanding Performer and was named Artist of the Year by CityPages. She co-founded James Sewell Ballet in New York City in 1990, serving as its managing director and artistic associate throughout its move to Minneapolis in 1993. Her choreography has been seen in both theatrical and commercial venues such as the Guthrie, Southern, and State Theaters; the Walker Art Center, MASS MoCA, the Cartoon Channel, and Harvard’s American Repertory Theatre. Since leaving JSB in 2014, Rousse’s site-specific work has taken dance off the tradition stage and featured artists who identify as LGBTQ, gender fluid, mature, disabled, female, native, and/or POC. As the Cowles Center’s first Artist in Residence, she engaged the community through free workshops, art installations, tours, discussions, and the acclaimed promenade performance ICON SAM: Temple Dances. Rousse performed as a leading dancer with the Royal Ballet of Flanders and Ballet Chicago, dancing works by Maurice Béjart, Jiri Kylian, and over 75 new works created on her by contemporary and post-modern choreographers.