Janelle Gilchrist

Janelle Gilchrist joined the Conservatory in 2021 and is an assistant professor of dance.  

Gilchrist has trained extensively throughout her life in ballet, modern dance, and other styles at Harriet Hoctor Ballet School, Boston Ballet School, José Mateo Ballet Theatre, Broadway Theater Project, Concord Academy, Dance Theater of Harlem, and the Hartt School, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts  in dance. Gilchrist has performed as a company dancer with the Hartford Ballet, New Jersey Ballet, José Mateo Ballet Theatre, City Ballet Boston, and Tony Williams’s Urban Nutcracker, where she made her debut as the Sugar Plum Fairy. Gilchrist was also a professional dancer for Legends in Concert and Celebrity Cruises. 

She has taught at Tony Williams Dance Center, Step by Step, Boston University’s Reach program, a dance intensive and service program for teens, and was principal of the José Mateo Ballet School in Dorchester, Massachusetts. 

Gilchrist currently works full time as a dance instructor at Boston Arts Academy, runs a small contemporary ballet company called Janelle Gilchrist Dance Troupe, and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

Professional Awards and Recognitions

• New England Foundation for the Arts Grant recipient (2019)

Notable Recent Works

• Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker, New England Dance, 2020
• Excerpts (Children's Ballet Co, 2020)—Dancer/choreographer
• Urban Nutcracker, (Shubert Theater, 2018-2019)—Guest artist
• Vignettes (Dance Complex, 2019)—Dancer/choreographer
• Cambridge River Festival (Dance Complex, 2019)—Dancer/choreographer