Jason Ambrose

Starting dance at the late age of 16 and beginning his formal ballet training a year later, Jason Ambrose, of Virginia Beach, VA., began his studies at the Virginia Beach Ballet Academy under the direction of Ana Maria Martinez. He furthered his training at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School where he danced roles in company productions such as Terrance Orr's "The Nutcracker" and Derek Deane's "Alice in Wonderland". He has been accepted into and attended many prestigious year-round and summer programs such as the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and The Kirov Academy of Ballet, all on scholarship. Jason has had the opportunity to study closely with teachers such as Hector Zaraspe, Marina Stavitskaya, Deborah Wingert, Daniel Ulbricht, Andrei Bossov, and the late Peter O'Brian. He is an alumnus of the Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program where he was coached and mentored by master teacher Edward Ellison. 

 

Jason has been recognized as "a rapidly rising choreographic talent”. His work has been featured in the annual Dance Against Cancer Benefit Gala (NYC), the Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition Closing Gala and has been invited to be performed in the Youth America Grand Prix, (YAGP), closing gala in Lincoln Center. He has choreographed for and coached numerous Top Three winners in the YAGP Contemporary and Classical Solo Categories and was also a coach to the 2020 Prix de Lausanne Second Prize Winner. Jason received the 2020 WBAC Grand Prix Outstanding Teacher Award. In 2021 Jason was featured in Pointe and Dance Magazine. 

 

As an instructor he has been a guest teacher, faculty member, and choreographer for Boston Ballet, the Manhattan Youth Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, Ellison Ballet, Valentina Kozlova Dance Conservatory, NY, Charlottesville Ballet, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts, Dancers Give Back Dallas, the University of Texas at Austin, Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School & Camp, Canadian Dance Company, Oklahoma City Ballet School, SoulEscape, Elite Classical Coaching, and Adrenaline Dance Convention. Jason worked as Ballet Director for Next Step Dance Performing Arts Center in Frisco, Texas and Canadian Dance Company in Oakville, Ontario. Jason served as a jury member for the 2021 San Francisco Dance Film Fest. 

 

Jason was personally invited by St. Petersburg Conservatory Dean and former Mariinsky (Kirov Ballet) Director, Oleg Vinogradov, to St. Petersburg, Russia as the first African American to study in their Ballet Masters and Choreographers Degree Program and to dance with the Ballet Theatre of the St. Petersburg Conservatoire. Jason travels the country, and internationally, as a guest ballet teacher and classical and contemporary choreographer. Ambrose has served as Resident Choreographer for Ellison Ballet, NYC, Ballet Master at Elite Classical Coaching, and a judge and teacher for Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) and Japan Grand Prix. He was a Men’s Faculty member and the Children’s Division Principal at San Francisco Ballet School from 2020-2023 where he taught Levels 1-8 and SFB Trainees. He is currently Associate Director at Elite Classical Coaching.