About the Trust

Amanda McKerrow has the honor of being the first American to receive a gold medal at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow in 1981.Since then she has been the recipient of numerous other awards, including the Princess Grace Dance Fellowship.She had the honor of training with Mary Day at the Washington School of Ballet and was a member of that company until she joined American Ballet Theatre under the direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1982. She was appointed to the rank of soloist in 1983 and became a principal dancer in 1987. Ms. McKerrow danced the leading roles in all the major classics and had numerous works created for her by many of the great choreographers of the twentieth century. She has also appeared as a guest artist throughout the world. Ms. McKerrow is now the sole Trustee of the Antony TudorBallet Trust, and together with her husband John Gardner stages his ballets around the world. Ms. McKerrow is also in demand as a master teacher for both students and professional dancers, and has also enjoyed staging numerous other ballets for professional companies and universities both in the United States and abroad. She is currently Co-Director of the Colorado Ballet Academy Summer Intensive.

Sally Brayley Bliss was born in London and brought up in Nova Scotia, Canada. She was fortunate to have studied, early in her career, with some of the most important ballet teachers of the time: Margaret Craske, Celia Franca, Robert Joffrey, Hector Zaraspe and Antony Tudor. In 1954 she joined the National Ballet of Canada. She performed as a principal dancer with the Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Opera from 1962-1968 and as a guest artist with American Ballet Theatre and The Joffrey Ballet. In 1969 she co-founded The Joffrey II Dancers and was Artistic Director of that group from 1974-1984. In 1984 she received a presidential appointment to serve on the National Counsel on the Arts for a term of 8 years. In 1987 following his death, Ms. Bliss was named Trustee of the Antony Tudor Ballet Trust where she served as steward and caretaker of his legacy until her retirement in 2018. She has also served as Executive Director of Dance St. Louis from 1995-2006 and is the recipient of numerous awards among them the CORPs de Ballet International Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. Ms. Bliss has also served extensively on many Boards of Directors including UNCSA and currently Paul Taylor Dance Company. She was married to the late Anthony Bliss and has two grown sons and several grand children as well as a large and loving extended family. She currently lives in St Louis with her husband Jim Connett and is Trustee Emeritus for the Antony Tudor Ballet Trust.