Linda Gelinas

Linda Gelinas is the Artistic Dance Co-Director of the Metropolitan Opera. She is also on the dance faculty at The Juilliard School.

Linda was the Dance Captain and a principal dancer at the Met, before her directorship. Prior to the Met, Linda began her professional career at age 17 performing with Edward Villella and Dancers and the Eglevsky Ballet, both under the direction of Edward Villella. She has performed with Alexander Godunov and Friends, the Pavlova Celebration Tour, the Nureyev-Joffrey Ballet tribute to Nijinsky, the Boston Repertory Company, among others.

Her diverse repertoire includes works by Alvin Ailey, George Balanchine, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Sean Curran, Carmen de Lavallade, Agnes de Mille, Bob Fosse, Robert LaFosse, Mark Morris, Alexei Ratmansky, Jerome Robbins, Doug Varone, Edward Villella, and Christopher Wheeldon. She performed the role of Louise in a New England tour of Carousel, as well.

Linda has taught and choreographed at the Miami City Ballet School, Hong Kong International Dance Intensive, the Joffrey School, Verona Summer Dance Lab, and the Steps Academy. She also taught at Ballet Hispanico, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Manhattan Youth Ballet, Broadway Dance Center, Ballet Arts, and Columbia Performing Arts Center. She served as Rehearsal Director for the Festival Company at Chautauqua Institution, and is a guest teacher for New York City Dance Alliance.

She was the resident choreographer and dance instructor for the Marcello Giordani Young Artist Program and the Opera Children’s Chorus at the Crested Butte Music Festival.

Linda received her formal training at the Boston Ballet School and received a scholarship to train at the Joffrey School at age 15. She is a certified Pilates instructor and a graduate of the New York Film Academy.

Class Description
Linda’s classes emphasizes placement with a view to building strength, developing line, and working correctly to avoid injury. She leads a challenging, musical, dynamic class, and often offers choices while demonstrating her exercises, to either elevate or lower the level of the combinations. She wants the dancers in her classes to feel comfortable and build confidence. If they are professionals, she hopes they leave feeling ready to rehearse or perform. She instructs with humor and enthusiasm. She has a very positive attitude and hopes that the dancers feel fulfilled and proud of what they have accomplished in her class.