Title: Executive Director
Company: Miami City Ballet
Location: Miami, Florida, United States
Juan José Escalante, executive director at Miami City Ballet, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Artists for dedication, achievements, and leadership in performing arts.
With three and a half decades of experience to his credit, Mr. Escalante has established a successful career in the performing arts, specializing in ballet. He excels as the executive director of Miami City Ballet, a position he has held since 2023, where he oversees all non-artistic aspects of the organization, including marketing, fundraising, finance, theater management, and ballet tours. Prior to this, he was the executive director of the National Dance Institute in New York from 2022 to 2023, executive director of the José Limón Dance Foundation from 2013 to 2022, he held the position of director of finance and administration at El Museo del Barrio, Greater New York City Area in 2012, and executive director of Orlando Ballet from 2009 to 2011, where he provided executive leadership, managed daily operations, and led marketing and fundraising efforts. He was the principal business development consultant at Worth Avenue Group from 2005 to 2009, executive director of Ballet Florida from 2001 to 2004, and served as human resources director for Miami City Ballet from 1995 to 2001. He was an associate director of finance at New York City Ballet from 1989 to 1995, and dedicates his time, serving on the national board of Dance/USA since 2024, the board of directors for Dance/NYC since 2018, and mentoring through the 5000 Role Models of Excellence program.
Reflecting on his path, Mr. Escalante laid a strong educational foundation, earning a Bachelor of Arts in business administration from Lehman College in 1987 and a Master of Business Administration in global management from the University of Phoenix in 2002. He takes great pride in nurturing young professionals, helping them collaborate and eventually take on leadership roles. He takes great pride in contributing strategic vision to performing arts organizations and considers himself a strategic thinker, planner, and collaborator with artistic teams. Throughout his career, he has learned the value of patience, listening, and cooperation, acknowledging that he does not always have the best ideas and encouraging his team to think creatively and remain curious. He believes that great things take time, and as such, he fosters an open-door policy and promotes collaboration with all staff members. He treats everyone with respect, regardless of their position, and says this approach has been a cornerstone of his success in leadership roles.
Mr. Escalante attributes his success to consistency, continuous learning, and maintaining an open-door policy while giving credit where it is due. He believes in investing in self-improvement and surrounding himself with people who challenge him and offer diverse perspectives. In the coming years, his goal is to elevate Miami City Ballet from a strong organization to a world-renowned institution. He aims to instill confidence in contributors, convincing them that Miami City Ballet is a valuable investment. As the largest employer of artists in South Florida, he seeks to build on this achievement, propelling the company into the top 20 ballet institutions globally. With Miami City Ballet already ranked in the top 10 in the U.S., he envisions laying a solid foundation for future leaders to take the organization to even greater heights.
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