LEADERSHIP

LINCOLN JONES

Founder, DIRECTOR, AND CHOREOGRAPHER

Lincoln Jones was born in Fullerton, California, and began dancing at the age of nineteen, receiving scholarships to the Joffrey, San Francisco, Pennsylvania, and Milwaukee schools, and later teaching and performing in New York before moving to Los Angeles to establish “one of America’s most adventurous and exciting ballet companies” (KUSC). The company quickly became known for presenting classical ballet in modern, non-proscenium venues, exclusively to live music.

Jones’ acclaimed programming for ACB includes his presentation of Balanchine works (The New York Times recognized ACB for furthering the choreographer’s legacy on the West Coast. Fjord Review called his staging of The Euterpides (an original ballet to a score commissioned from composing prodigy Alma Deutscher) and Balanchine’s Serenade at a Television City soundstage “art as the highest form of hope,” while The New Criterion wrote that “the future of human-created beauty hangs on the efforts of artists like Deutscher and Jones.” Jones’ original works (including 2016’s Adamiana, 2024’s ACB Jazz, and 2025’s The Euterpides and Death and the Maiden) have been the subjects of reviews praising both his choreographic work and the significance of his programming. Dance critic Victoria Looseleaf called Death and the Maiden “masterful, inventive and courageous.” The Ballet Herald wrote “ACB’s shows reject categorization, working to transform the art form into something entirely new.”

In recent seasons, Jones has presented dance in increasingly compelling and creative formats, staging immersive productions of Inferno and Burlesque (to a score commissioned from late Pulitzer Prize winner Charles Wuorinen) and Astaire Dances. Jones’ immersive staging of The Nutcracker Suite became an unexpected L.A. holiday tradition, selling out every season since its 2017 premiere. Los Angeles Magazine wrote “American Contemporary Ballet is undeniably one of the most talented institutions across the entire globe.”

Jones and ACB have fostered a cultural community around dance with educational programs that bring audiences further inside the art. Los Angeles Times noted of one such presentation, “Jones made the most complex issues seem like child's play in a beguiling 'Dance and Design'.” He has also given talks on ballet with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and has choreographed commercials for Apple, Facebook, Virgin Mobile, and other international brands.

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