For Immediate Release
Contact: Gloria Gottschalk, New School University
             (212) 229-5667, ext. 239

(August 21, 2000 – New York, NY) The Joffrey Ballet School/New School University B.F.A. Dance Program announced the appointment of Rebecca Wright as Chair of the program. Ms. Wright will be taking over the position held by Kathryn Posin, the founding Chair, who will continue as a full-time faculty member in the program.

Prior to her appointment at New School University, Ms. Wright was director of the Adelphi University Dance Program and a guest faculty member of Company Dance (Paula Abdul). She will has been director of the American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensives in Detroit, Tuscaloosa, and New York City and will continue this affiliation.

Ms. Wright has been a guest teacher at the LaGuardia High School for the Perfoming Arts and The Juilliard School. She is the director of Wright Moves, Inc.

She has an association with the Joffrey Ballet where she was a principal dancer from 1966-1975. In 1975, she left the Joffrey to join the American Ballet Theatre as a soloist where she danced until 1982. In addition, she has appeared in numerous television programs, including "Live from Lincoln Center" and the Emmy Award winning CBS Television Special "Harlequin" with Edward Villella.

Ms. Wright has also starred on Broadway in the musical "Merlin," for which she received a Drama Desk nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. She has been in the national touring company of "On Your Toes," where she replaced the ailing Leslie Caron and then shared performances with Natalia Makarova.

Kathryn Posin, a modern dancer and choreographer, conceived of the partnership between the Joffrey Ballet School and New School University, which lead to the creation of the Bachelor of Fine Arts program in the Fall of 1999. Under Ms. Posin’s leadership, the first year of the program culminated in an acclaimed all-Copland performance at The Joyce Theater in NYC. The B.F.A. program incorporates the professional classical ballet training and standards of the Joffrey Ballet School and the interdisciplinary courses at New School University. Both institutions are located in NYC’s Greenwich Village.