Meehan moves to Hong Kong Ballet.

John Meehan is a natural ambassador of ballet: tall, charismatic, and an articulate spokesperson. As artistic director of education and training for American Ballet Theatre, a position he stepped down from last October, he nurtured a generation of talent that now enriches the ranks of the main company. Currently 44 out of ABT's 92 dancers were mentored by Meehan in the Studio Company. This speaks to his teaching skills, his ability to recognize and motivate emerging talent, and his knack for getting young dancers to "focus on the work."

Recently named the artistic director of Hong Kong Ballet, Meehan now embarks on the next leg of his career. "I'll present a mix of repertoire: three-act classical ballets, one-act contemporary ballets, and new works," says Meehan. "Merrill Ashley is setting Theme and Variations this year and we're bringing Rudy Van Danzig's Romeo and Juliet."

Born in Anstralia, Meehan danced for 20 years as a professional, first with Australian Ballet and then as a principal in ABT, among other companies. As artistic director of Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet (1990-93), he staged an original production of Sleeping Beauty. (He also brought an unknown dancer from the The Kiev Theater of Opera and Ballet, Alexei Ratmansky, to dance in the West for the first time. Ratmansky, who is now the artistic director of the Bolsboi Ballet, cites Meehan as a mentor.) This year, he was a visiting professor of dance at Vassar College, and he will be will be the master of ceremonies at this summer's USA International Ballet Competition.

This past April at Meehan's going away party hosted by ABT and attended by dancers and staff, he said, "I have been invited to a lot of parties during my tenure at ABT and this is one I did not want to come to. I've devoted 12 years of my life to ABT and it very much feels like home. I'm going to miss it."