New Artistic Director is Bringing Excitement to Florham Park’s New Jersey Ballet

Maria Kowroski has crossed the Hudson River from New York City into New Jersey.

On October 17, 2021, she retired from the New York City Ballet and, just a few weeks later, was named new Artistic Director of the New Jersey Ballet.

“Since Carolyn (Clark, New Jersey Ballet founder) has been inactive for quite some time, I think the company just needed a new energy, almost like a rebirth. When I interviewed for the job, I didn't really know much about the company. I'd actually never seen the company perform.”

Her goal was to breathe new life into the New Jersey Ballet. “Bring in some new repertory, hire some new dancers, and get the community excited about ballet again,” Kowroski says. “I think the pandemic obviously didn't help any arts institution, which is unfortunate, and I think we suffered the most. I think it's about rebuilding and trying to get people back in the theaters in a safe way, obviously. A ballerina or a ballet dancer’s life is so short, these years are so precious, that you want to make sure that people are actually still wanting to come to the ballet and be moved. My years at New York City Ballet, I learned so much from the different choreographers. It's a huge institution, so I'm trying to incorporate some of the things I've learned but obviously in a much smaller scale.”

Kowroski, who was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is a former Principal Ballerina with the New York City Ballet. She started to learn ballet at the age of 5, eventually entered the School of American Ballet in Lincoln Center, and in 1994, at the age of 17, joined the New York City Ballet as an apprentice. She became a soloist in 1997 and a principal dancer in 1999.

The New Jersey Ballet’s Nutcracker (credit VAM Productions)

The Mayo Performing Arts Center will serve as the resident stage for the New Jersey Ballet. “When I saw the theater for the first time during the Nutcracker, I said to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, this is adorable.’ We’re super excited by that collaboration,” Kowroski says. “I'm glad that we have this with MPAC. Eventually I’d like to build and have even more dates. We want to make sure that there are people who are coming to see our performances with all this exciting new stuff that we're doing, and making it an equal opportunity for them as it is for us.”

On Saturday, November 19, 2022 is the New Jersey Ballet’s opening night. “As I'm still trying to learn the audience of New Jersey, I wanted to bring in ballets that were exciting, a little bit of everything.” Titled New Direction, the mixed bill will feature George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Hallelujah Junction by Peter Martins, and a world premiere performance by New York City Ballet principal dancer, Harrison Ball, with costumes designed by fashion designer, Zac Posen.

The New Jersey Ballet’s annual performance of the Nutcracker will return to MPAC from December 16 until December 27. The New Jersey Ballet will present two Saturday evening programs in addition to New Direction, as well as three Sunday matinee story ballet performances for its annual Family Series.

“I think I feel like we're kind of under the radar right now,” Kowroski says. “I think it's really important for us to get out there and really show what we're doing here. We have a whole new marketing plan coming up. We did a shoot for marketing, and we shot around New Jersey. Because we are the New Jersey Ballet, we've tried to pick really nice locations in New Jersey to showcase what we're encompassing. And I think the hardest thing right now is not having the word of mouth, not having us out there as much as we'd like. So we're trying to kind of actually go in a lot of different avenues, trying to put the word out there.”

“When I go to a performance,” Kowroski says, “I want to be moved, and that's what I want the audience to feel after they watch the New Jersey Ballet.”

For more information abut the New Jersey Ballet, visit www.njballet.org.