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Making an Indelible Mark on Atlanta Ballet

Sharon Story, Dean of Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education, receives second-ever Dorothy Alexander Award.

Sharon Story, Gennadi Nedvigin, Nancy Fields, Arturo Jacobus. Photo by Kim Kenney.

We are thrilled to announce that Sharon Story, Dean of our Centre for Dance Education, was presented with Atlanta Ballet's second-ever Dorothy Alexander Award at the opening night of Atlanta Ballet 2's On the Horizon!

With a mission to provide opportunities for children and adults in the community to discover the joys of dance, former Artistic Director John McFall founded the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education in 1996, and later identified Sharon Story as Dean. With Sharon at the helm, the Centre has become one of the largest, most recognized and well-respected dance schools in the United States. Under Sharon's direction, the Centre achieved accreditation with National Association of Schools of Dance, making the Centre one of only six schools in the country with this accreditation. Over the last 20 years, Sharon has worked tirelessly to grow the school, which now boasts more than 1,200 students over three Metro Atlanta studio locations

Sharon Story. Photo by Kim Kenney.

The impact that Sharon and the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education team has had on Georgia’s arts community is unprecedented. Her compassion, leadership and dedication have directly contributed to enriching the lives of children and families not only throughout Atlanta and the state of Georgia but across the nation as well. Every day, aspiring dancers take part in the Centre’s programs within Atlanta Ballet’s studios and throughout the community, moving closer to achieving their dreams. Each and every studio, from morning to night, is filled with youthful exuberance and immense talent, and it is Sharon Story who opens the door.

Congratulations to this year’s recipient of the Dorothy Alexander Award – there certainly are few others who rise to the top-line criterion for an award that recognizes “making an indelible mark on Atlanta Ballet” as does Dean Sharon Story.


Prior to the presentation of this year's Dorothy Alexander Award at the opening night of Atlanta Ballet 2's On the Horizon, we also "officially" presented the Dorothy Alexander Award to last year's recipient, who hasn’t been able to meet with us in person in more than a year due to the pandemic. 

Robert Barnett, Nancy Fields, Arturo Jacobus and Gennadi Nedvigin. Photo by Kim Kenney.

Last May, via Zoom, Artistic Director Emeritis Robert Barnett, was announced as the inaugural recipient of the Dorothy Alexander Award.

Not only has he made an enormous mark on Atlanta Ballet and the ballet world at large, but it is doubly fitting that he should be the first recipient because he was hand-picked by Dorothy Alexander herself to be her successor as Artistic Director of Atlanta Ballet, which he then led for 30 years. And during three seasons of those incredible 30 years, a talented dancer named Sharon Story danced under his direction.