LEADERSHIP

Linda Shelton is a distinguished leader in the dance field with over three decades of experience in arts administration, management, and education. She is the executive director and a trustee of The Joyce Theater Foundation, a premier venue for dance in New York City that supports the development and presentation of diverse local and international artists. Prior to joining The Joyce in 1993, she served as general manager of The Joffrey Ballet, held various management positions at The Twyla Tharp Dance Foundation, and managed tours for the Bolshoi Ballet, Moscow Virtuosi, Sankai Juku, and composer Phillip Glass.

Shelton attended NYU earning a BA in Dance. While completing work towards an MA, she interned at the New York State Council on the Arts and thus began a career in Arts Administration. She has taught at Marymount Manhattan College and currently teaches in NYU Steinhardt’s Graduate Performing Arts Administration program.

Ms. Shelton has served on numerous panels, boards, and juries for prestigious organizations and awards in the US and abroad, including the National Endowment for the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, Dance/USA (serving as the chair from 2000-2002), Dance/NYC (a trustee from 1996- 2006), the Toyota Choreography Award in Tokyo, a Tony Award nominator (2013), and the Benois de la Danse in Moscow. Ms. Shelton currently sits on the boards of Studio School and Chelsea Factory.

Shelton has been the recipient of several honors, including France’s Order of Arts and Letters both as a Chevalier (1999) and as an Officer (2017), Dance/USA’s “Ernie” Award (2015), the Documents of Dance Award from The Dance Library of Israel, the William Dawson Award for Programmatic Excellence (2019), and on behalf of The Joyce Theater she received the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Liberty Award (2011). In 2017, Dance Magazine recognized Shelton as one of the most influential people in dance and awarded her the 2019 Chairman’s Award for her global leadership in dance. Shelton was recognized by the women’s basketball team, NY Liberty (2022) as a changemaker/ leader who advocates for social justice as a part of their platform. As a further testament to her work, in 2023, Shelton was asked to participate in the Mayor’s Inaugural Live Performance Industry Council, which invited a diverse group of leaders in the live arts sector to provide recommendations on support and sustainability.