About

Mikhail Baryshnikov

Founder and Artistic Director

In 2005, Mikhail Baryshnikov launched Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City, a creative space designed to support multidisciplinary artists from around the globe. Among Mr. Baryshnikov’s many awards are the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, the Commonwealth Award, the Chubb Fellowship, the Jerome Robbins Award, and the Vilcek Award. In 2010, he was given the rank of Officer of the French Legion of Honor, and in 2017 he received Japan’s prestigious Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award in Theatre/Film. Born 1948 in Riga, Latvia, Mikhail Baryshnikov is considered one of the greatest dancers of our time. After commencing a spectacular career with the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he came to the West in 1974, settling in New York City as principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre (ABT). In 1978 he joined New York City Ballet, where he worked with George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. A year later he was appointed artistic director of ABT where, for the next decade, he introduced a new generation of dancers and choreographers. From 1990–2002, Mr. Baryshnikov was director and dancer of the White Oak Dance Project, which he and choreographer Mark Morris co-founded to expand the repertoire and visibility of American modern dance. As an actor, he has performed widely on and off Broadway, as well as in television and film, receiving a Tony Award nomination and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Metamorphosis directed by Steven Berkoff, and an Academy Award nomination for Herbert Ross’ film The Turning Point. Other theatrical productions include Forbidden Christmas or The Doctor and the Patient directed by Rezo Gabriadze, Beckett Shorts by JoAnne Akalaitis, In Paris by Dmitry Krymov, Man in a Case by Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar, Brodsky/Baryshnikov by Alvis Hermanis, and The Old Woman and Letter to a Man by Robert Wilson. Recent projects include NOT ONCE., a cinematic installation developed in collaboration with Jan Fabre and Phil Griffin; a theatrical production and film directed by Latvian director Alvis Hermanis entitled The White Helicopter; an adaptation of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard directed by Igor Golyak; and most recently François Girard’s The Hunting Gun.

Leadership and Board

Director

Jamie Burns is a nonprofit leader with over 15 years of experience advancing artistic innovation, community engagement, and organizational growth. 

Before joining Baryshnikov Arts Center in 2025, Ms. Burns spent over a decade in senior leadership roles at Roulette Intermedium, a nationally recognized performing arts nonprofit presenting more than 120 experimental music, dance, and media performances each year. Appointed Executive Director in 2022, she led the organization through its first leadership transition since its founding in 1978, working closely with the Founder, Board, and staff to shape a sustainable future. During her tenure, she doubled contributed income, established cash and capital reserves and an artistic innovation fund, expanded commissions and residencies for early-career artists, launched a free multi-camera livestreaming platform, and developed a digital archive of more than 4,000 recordings documenting the evolution of avant-garde performance.

Ms. Burns previously led membership engagement at the literary and human rights organization PEN America, produced international scholarly conferences at Common Ground Research Networks, and managed fundraising at The Boulevard of Chicago and the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute. 

Originally from Minneapolis, Ms. Burns resides in Brooklyn and holds an executive certificate in nonprofit leadership from Baruch College, an M.A. from the University of Illinois, and a B.A. from Pitzer College.