Jenny Chiang

About

Jenny was born in Indonesia and went to China when she was twelve to study ballet on a scholarship at the Beijing Dance Academy. During the Cultural Revolution she was sent to labor in the rice paddies for two years before being called back to Beijing to dance as a soloist with the National Ballet of China. She made her way to England where she danced with the Northern Ballet Theatre as their prima ballerina for twelve years. During this time she guested at a number of companies and galas around the world. She was the first Beijing-trained ballerina to have a successful performing career in China and the West. Since her retirement from performing, she has taught ballet at a number of schools in the United States and abroad, including the Juilliard School, Dance Theatre of Harlem, North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Vail International Dance Festival. She has coached students for international competitions, has choreographed and staged a number of ballets, and has been ballet mistress for the Eglevsky Ballet. She is presently teaching at Alvin Ailey and Marymount Manhattan College.