Jessica Lang

Jessica Lang is an American director and choreographer based in New York City. Since 1999, she has created more than 100 original works on companies worldwide, including American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, the National Ballet of Japan, The Joffrey Ballet, and her eponymous company Jessica Lang Dance, among many others.

In the Fall of 2023, Lang became Artist in Residence at Sarasota Ballet. For more than two decades, she has worked extensively for American Ballet Theatre. Her original creations on the main company include Her Notes, Garden Blue, and  ZigZag  with the legendary Tony Bennett, as well as Let Me Sing Forevermore, which was performed on the ABT Across America nationwide tour and featured regularly on Celebrity Cruise entertainment programs. Lang has created seven ballets on the ABT Studio Company, including Children’s Songs Dance in collaboration with music icon Chick Corea. In 2016, she choreographed San Francisco Opera's production of Aida, directed by Francesca Zambello, which was presented at Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera and, in 2022, LA Opera.

Lang was Artistic Director of Jessica Lang Dance from 2011–2019. Founded in 2011, the company toured and performed in over 85 cities and was presented by major venues including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Los Angeles Music Center, The Kennedy Center, The Harris Theater, New York City Center, Northrop Auditorium, Winspear Opera House, Tel Aviv Opera House, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, BAM Fisher, and Helikon Opera, among many others. She received a 2018 Martha Hill Mid-Career Award, the 2017 Arison Award, and a 2014 Bessie Award. She was nominated for The Critics' Circle National Dance Awards for Best Digital Choreography in 2021 for Ghost Variations on Pacific Northwest Ballet and a Manchester Evening News Award in 2012 for Lyric Pieces on Birmingham Royal Ballet. She has been a fellow of New York City Center and The Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU, and in 2019 she was named a Caroline Hearst Choreographer-in-Residence at Princeton University. Lang’s work has also been performed by numerous educational institutions, including The Juilliard School, SUNY Purchase, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and University of Arizona, among many others. Lang is originally from Bucks County, PA, and is a graduate of The Juilliard School. Lang is a former member of Twyla Tharp's company, THARP! where she toured and performed all over the world.