Executive Director

Russell P. Allen
Orlando Ballet

Executive Director 
2002- 2008

Russell P. Allen has been the Executive Director of Orlando Ballet since May 2004. As Executive Director for the Orlando Ballet, Allen oversees the overall management of the company including fundraising efforts, strategic planning, marketing, finance and human resources activity, and works to continue to build on the organization’s successes as a growing force in classical ballet.

A former General Manager for both The Atlanta Opera and The Virginia Opera, Allen has also served as an independent arts consultant in numerous cities across the United States. He has had significant involvement with the OPERA America Field Services Program and the National Endowment for the Arts On-Site Review Program.


Prior to his ten-year tenure in opera, Allen worked for sixteen years in symphony management. He served as Vice President/General Manager of the Phoenix Symphony from 1986 to 1994 and in other senior management positions with the Jacksonville, Shreveport, Houston and San Antonio Symphonies.

Allen has been active on grants panels with the Maryland State Arts Council, the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the Phoenix Arts Commission, and the Houston Cultural Council, as well as being a member of the Downtown Phoenix Partnership, Chairman of the Heritage Square Advisory Board in Phoenix, and was a member of the Valley Leadership Institute in Phoenix.

Allen served on a legislative sub-committee of the Virginia General Assembly on the state’s arts funding. He has served as Chairman of the Executive Directors Council and on the Board of Directors of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Hampton Roads. He is a member of the 1999-2000 class of the Civic Leadership Institute in Norfolk.

Allen currently serves as Vice President of the Alumni Board of his alma mater, Macalester College, and has chaired and/or participated in numerous alumni events for the College over the years in Houston, Phoenix, and Atlanta.

A native of McLean, Virginia, Allen graduated with a double major in English and Music from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1974 and had further studies in accounting at the University of Houston. He has served as a professional tenor soloist and as a member of the professional choral ensemble the Dale Warland Singers in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.