Q Magazine | 20 years, one final curtain call — Adam Sklute’s legacy at Ballet West
Adam Sklute, Ballet West’s artistic director since 2007, has announced he will retire at the close of the 2026-27 season — his 20th anniversary with the company and the longest artistic directorship in Ballet West’s 63-year history, surpassing even that of founder Willam F. Christensen.
Sklute broke the news in a personal letter posted to Ballet West’s website, framing the decision as one made from strength, not crisis.
“I come to this decision at a time when Ballet West is both artistically and financially strong and solid,” he wrote, calling the company “renowned around the world as one of America’s top ten ballet companies.”
That wasn’t always the case. When Sklute arrived in March 2007, Ballet West was canceling programming, its Academy had fewer than 150 students, and no new works had been created in nine years. Sklute — a 23-year veteran of The Joffrey Ballet who danced for Robert Joffrey himself before rising to associate director — was hired with a three-part mandate: strengthen the dancers and productions, raise Ballet West’s national profile, and grow the Academy.