Anna McDowell

Born and raised in Juneau Alaska, Anna McDowell received her ballet training at Juneau Dance Theater under the direction of Janice Hurley, Julie Diana and Zachary Hench. As a student she performed soloist and principal roles such as Dew Drop Fairy and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker and Myrtha in Giselle. After attending summer programs at Carolina Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Indiana University and Cincinnati Ballet, she joined American Repertory Ballet (ARB) as a trainee in 2018 and performed in the corps de ballet of Snow, Flowers and Spanish in ARB’s production of The Nutcracker. In 2020 Anna began teaching full time at ARB’s affiliate school, Princeton Ballet School (PBS), for both the academy and pre-professional divisions. At PBS under the direction of Aydmara Cabrera, Anna staged work from major ballets including Swan Lake, Coppelia, Cinderella, Don Quixote and Sleeping Beauty. Anna also staged many roles and managed the pre-professional children in American Repertory Ballet productions of The Nutcracker for several years. Anna has choreographed original works for Princeton Ballet School, Harvard Ballet Company and Juneau Dance Theater, including a piece titled Blurred Visions created in collaboration with composer William Todd Hunt and Portrait of Alaska created in collaboration with the Rie Muñoz gallery. In 2025 Anna became the Principal Teacher and Ballet Master of Juneau Dance Theater.