Amanda Bennett – Director Ballettschule Theater Basel
Born: Texas, USA. Dance education: School of American Ballet, New York. Engagements: Ballet du Grand Théater de Genéve, Director Patricia Neary and Artistic Director George Balanchine; 1978 – 1989 Principal Dancer Basler Ballett, Director Heinz Sporeli; 1989 – 1990 Pennsylvania Ballet. Ms. Bennett has worked as guest teacher, ballet mistress and choreographic assistant for, among others: The Feld Ballet N.Y., Ballet du Grand Theater de Genéve, Luzerner Ballett, Bern Ballett and Ballet Freiburg Pretty Ugly. She has been on the jury of many international competitions including The McDonalds Performing Arts Challenge, Sydney Australia , the Prix de Lausanne and in 2016 the Vaganova Competition, St. Petersburg. She is an accredited teacher of the American Ballet Theater National Training Curriculum. From 2012 – 2016 she was the Artistic Director of the Prix de Lausanne. Ms. Bennett has been the director of the Ballettschule Theater Basel and teacher for Ballett Basel since 2001. She was instrumental in bringing the EFZ (the Swiss acredited diploma for professional schools) to Basel. In June 2015 she received the Heinz Spoerli Foundation Prize for her outstanding achievement as director of the Ballettschule Theater Basel.