TIVOLI, NY – Kaatsbaan Cultural Park is pleased to announce a new leadership appointment, effective October 1, 2026. Choreographer Jessica Lang has been named the next Artistic Advisor for the multidisciplinary residency and presenting organization, succeeding founder Kevin McKenzie in the role. Lang will advise Kaatsbaan’s leadership, working closely with them to develop connections, projects, and support the development of the arts for artists and audiences alike.
Founder and Board Chair Kevin McKenzie said “I am so pleased to welcome Jessica’s boundless energy, connection to the dance world, and commitment to help shape Kaatsbaan’s mission as a safe house for creative artists.” Managing Director, Naomi Miller, stated “Jessica has a deep history with Kaatsbaan, having taught our ballet intensive over decades and been in residence numerous times. To our conversations, she’s bringing her love for art in all forms, love of the organization, her inspired and strategic ideas, and broad knowledge of the artistic field. Her advice and suggestions are already benefitting how we provide support for artists and how the public can experience more fantastic works on our site.”
“My relationship with Kaatsbaan began in 2001,” said Jessica Lang. “When I first taught for Kaatsbaan co-founder Martine van Hamel’s summer ballet intensive and experienced firsthand the vision she and Kevin McKenzie created for this extraordinary place. Over the past 25 years, I have returned to Kaatsbaan as a choreographer an artistic director in numerous creative residencies, and continue to teach at Kaastbaan Ballet Intensive. One of the residencies gave Jessica Lang Dance the space to develop an ambitious collaboration with architect Steven Holl on a scale that would not have been possible in a New York City studio. As a choreographer, I know the value of having the space to work expansively and to become fully immersed in the creative process. I am thrilled to build upon Kevin and Martine’s vision by creating those opportunities for artists across disciplines.”
About Jessica Lang
Jessica Lang is an American director and choreographer based in New York City. She is Resident Choreographer at Pacific Northwest Ballet and Artist in Residence at Sarasota Ballet.
Since 1999, Lang has created more than 100 original works for companies worldwide, including American Ballet Theatre, The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Vienna State Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, the National Ballet of Japan, and The Joffrey Ballet.
For more than two decades, Lang worked extensively with American Ballet Theatre, creating works including Her Notes, Garden Blue, ZigZag, in collaboration with Tony Bennett, and Let Me Sing Forevermore. She created seven ballets for ABT Studio Company, including Children’s Songs Dance with Chick Corea, later added to ABT’s repertoire. She was also a founding faculty member of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School.
Lang’s opera work includes Stabat Mater for the Glimmerglass Festival and Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival; Aida for San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, LA Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago; Salome for Des Moines Metro Opera; and Turandot, co-choreographed with Kanji Segawa, for Washington National Opera. Her 2026–27 season with WNO includes Nixon in China and the world-premiere ballet-opera O’Keeffe: Kiss the Sky, directed by Francesca Zambello with a score by Christopher Tin.
Lang founded Jessica Lang Dance in 2011 and served as Artistic Director through 2019, touring to more than 85 cities worldwide. Her work has also been performed by numerous educational institutions across the country. She is the recipient of a Bessie Award, Arison Award, and Martha Hill Mid-Career Award.
Originally from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Lang is a graduate of The Juilliard School and a former member of Twyla Tharp’s company, THARP!, with which she toured internationally.
About Kaatsbaan Cultural Park
The mission of Kaatsbaan Cultural Park is to provide an extraordinary environment for cultural innovation and excellence by providing artists at any stage of their careers with creative residencies in state-of-the-art facilities, and presenting audiences and communities with annual festivals, educational programs, and events. As both an incubator for creativity and presenter for world-class artists in dance, theater, music, film, spoken and written word, and culinary and visual arts, Kaatsbaan provides artists with dance studios, accommodations, an indoor theater, and outdoor stages. Sited on 153 Hudson River-adjacent acres, Kaatsbaan is free of urban facilities’ space and time constraints, allowing for exciting levels of artistic exploration, creative action, and achievement—just two hours north of New York City.
Kaatsbaan Cultural Park is committed to the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the arts as we aim to present, promote, and embrace programming that accurately reflects our society. We encourage a broadly diverse group of individuals to participate in our programs and join our Board and Staff, and insist on being inclusive of all peoples regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, socio-economic background, or physical or mental ability.