Christine Cox
Co-Artistic and Executive Director
Christine Cox began her training with the Pennsylvania Ballet School and continued at the Philadelphia High School for the Performing Arts, spending summer sessions at the Joffrey and San Francisco Ballet schools. After high school, she danced with Balletmet in Columbus, Ohio for five years before moving to New York. There, Christine danced as a guest artist with Ballet Hispanico and performed for President George H.W. Bush at the Ford Theatre. She then spent one year with American Repertory Ballet before joining Pennsylvania Ballet from 1993 to 2006.
Christine has premiered works by a number of gifted choreographers, including Ib Anderson, Rennie Harris, James Kudelka, John McFall, Trey McIntyre, Matthew Neenan, Kevin O'Day, David Parsons, Kirk Peterson, and Christopher Wheeldon. Some of her featured roles include Rum and Coca-Cola in Paul Taylor's Company B; Vortex in Alvin Ailey's The River; Choleric in George Balanchine's The Four Temperaments; Eve in Margo Sappington's Rodin; Mis En Vie the Cowgirl in Agnes DeMille's Rodeo; and principal female roles in Jerome Robbins' Fancy Free and The Concert.
In 2005 Christine co-founded BalletX with her long time collaborator Matthew Neenan. Over the last five years the company has performed at such prestigious venues as Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, the Laguna Dance Festival, Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, Festival de Ballet in Cali, Columbia, and Ballet EXPO, in Seoul, South Korea, They have received critical acclaim both nationally and internationally and have been featured in Pointe and Dance magazines. In 2006, Christine retired as a full-time company member of Pennsylvania Ballet in order to focus her energy on BalletX. Prior to retiring, she staged Mr. Neenan's 11:11 on Pennsylvania Ballet and rehearsed the company for the premiere at New York City Center.
In addition to her work with BalletX, Christine teaches and choreographs at The University of the Art. Her talent has been recognized with two Rocky Awards for outstanding achievement in the arts, as well as fellowships from the Independence Foundation (2002) and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (2006 and 2008). Christine would like to dedicate this season of new work to her mother Nancy Jane Cox. May she rest in peace and know that her passion for the arts will always live through her daughter and family.
Matthew Neenan
Artistic Director
Matthew Neenan began his dance training at the Boston Ballet School and with noted teachers Nan C. Keating and Jacqueline Cronsberg. He later attended the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts and the School of American Ballet in New York. From 1994-2007, Matthew danced with the Pennsylvania Ballet where he danced numerous principal roles in works by George Balanchine, John Cranko, Paul Taylor, Peter Martins, Val Caniparoli, Jorma Elo, Lila York, Meredith Rainey, Christopher Wheeldon and Jerome Robbins. In October 2007, Matthew was named Choreographer in Residenceat the Pennsylvania Ballet.
Matthew’s choreography has been featured and performed by the Pennsylvania Ballet (totaling 13 commissions), BalletX, The Washington Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Ballet Memphis, Milwaukee Ballet, Juilliard Dance, New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute, Sacramento Ballet, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Indiana University, Opera Company of Philadelphia, and LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts (NYC), among others. He has received numerous awards and grants for his choreography from the National Endowment of the Arts, Dance Advance funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Choo San Goh Foundation, and the Independence Foundation. In 2006, Matthew received the New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute’s Fellowship Initiative Award. Matthew’s “Carmina Burana”, “As It’s Going”, and “11:11” was performed by the Pennsylvania Ballet at New York City Center in 2006 & 2007. In 2008, he received a fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. This marks his fourth time receiving the PCA fellowship. In October 2009, Matthew was the grand-prize winner of Sacramento Ballet’s Capital Choreography Competition and was also the first recipient of the Jerome Robbins NEW Program Fellowship for his work At the border for Pennsylvania Ballet.
In 2005, Matthew co-founded BalletX with fellow dancer Christine Cox. BalletX had its world premiere at the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival in September 2005 and is now the resident dance company at the prestigious Wilma Theatre. BalletX has toured and performed Neenan’s choreography in New York City at The Skirball Center, Symphony Space and Central Park Summerstage, Vail International Dance Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, The Cerritos Center, Laguna Dance Festival, Spring to Dance Festival in St.Louis, and internationally in Cali, Colombia and Seoul, Korea.
