Samantha Dunster 
Director of Artistic Operations
American Repertory Ballet

Samantha Dunster began her ballet training in Toronto, Ontario. At the age of 17, she traveled to Havana to train with the National Ballet of Cuba. She continued dancing with the company of Centro Pro-Danza, under the direction of Laura Alonso, where she also worked as Regisseur and Ballet Mistress. In 1996, Samantha accepted the position of Artistic Director and Principal Dancer of Bale da Ilha in Brazil. By 2000, she became Ballet Mistress of Orlando Ballet under the late Fernando Bujones and in 2007, she accepted the position of Assistant to the Artistic Director of Orlando Ballet, under the direction of Bruce Marks. During her time in Orlando she staged La Fille Mal Gardée and premiered her production of Camelot. In 2011, Samantha accepted the position of Artistic Director of the Hartt Community Division Dance Department at the University of Hartford. During that time, she created and choreographed two new full-length ballets: Snow White and Peter Pan.  In 2014, she became Ballet Mistress with Philadelphia Ballet and was then appointed Assistant Artistic Director the following year. Samantha has traveled extensively setting ballets in places such as South Korea, Sweden, Argentina, and Japan. 

Photo by Harald Schrader