NHB Announces Next Artistic Director
To the NHB Community,
On behalf of the NHB Search Committee and the Board of Directors, I am delighted to announce that Lisa Sanborn has accepted our offer to become the next Artistic Director of NHB, effective immediately.
The search brought in applicants from around the world—one strong candidate is currently in Hong Kong—and the Search Committee vetted numerous applications and spoke to several promising candidates. Ultimately, it was clear that Lisa was far and away the strongest candidate for NHB. The unanimous choice of the Search Committee and the Board, Lisa has also received an outpouring of support from the NHB community, many of whom sent letters on her behalf.
As Interim Artistic Director, Lisa was set with the daunting task of taking over the school on short notice, staffing the classes, producing—and choreographing—a Nutcracker worthy of the Shubert, fundraising, and performing the myriad tasks that are part of the Artistic Director’s daily duties. She has succeeded in all particulars, handling with grace, competence, and good humor not only the expected duties but the unexpected—such as finding a new Nutcracker backdrop on short notice.
In the spring term, Lisa has brought world-class dancers to work with our students, including principals and former soloists with New York City Ballet, launched both our Shared Ability and the new DanceAIR outreach programs, and worked with the Board to develop an artistic vision consistent with the NHB mission. I feel confident that Lisa will prove a strong leader, taking NHB to new artistic levels and serving the New Haven community in multiple ways.
Please join me in welcoming Lisa to her new position.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Mellitz
President, NHB Board of Directors
