Founder, Executive Directior
Laurel Winton
Laurel Winton trained at both the School of American Ballet and San Francisco Ballet on merit scholarships and went by her stage name “Jenny Winton” for most of her career. She was a professional Ballerina for 13 years in which she danced for prominent companies such as the Joffrey Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Ballet X, Pennsylvania Ballet, and Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. In 2014, Laurel was chosen to represent the United States in the International Ballet Competition where she competed with 100 of the most elite young professionals from 17 other countries around the globe. This competition held in Jackson, MS, like the Olympics, is held once every four years and is considered one of the highest-ranking dance competitions in the world. From there, Laurel transitioned into the Broadway world and took on the role of “Penny” in Broadway’s North American Tour of Dirty Dancing. She fell in love with acting and co-starred on the CBS television series “BULL” before she joined one of her dream companies, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet.
Laurel founded DanceAspen in 2021 in order to keep the arts alive in her community after the devastation of the pandemic, and continues to lead one of the quickest-growing dance companies in the United States into its fourth year as Executive Director.