Ma Cong will be named Richmond Ballet's Artistic Director in July 2024 after serving four years as Associate Artistic Director. He has been widely recognized by the dance world as a bold, bright, and inspiring artist and choreographer. Ma started his dance career at the Beijing Dance Academy where he trained in the art of Chinese classical dance. He went on to dance with the National Ballet of China from 1995 until 1999 when he moved the United States. During his twenty-two-year career at Tulsa Ballet as both Principal Dancer and Resident Choreographer, Ma performed works by Duato, Kylián, Forsythe, Balanchine, Robbins, Stevenson, and Wheeldon to name a few. In addition, he created several original works for dance companies worldwide such as Queensland Ballet, Singapore Ballet, National Ballet of China and Richmond Ballet. His first creation for Richmond Ballet, Ershter Vals, was performed for sold out audiences at the Royal Opera House in London in 2012 and at The Kennedy Center in 2015. Also in 2015, Ma’s creation Lift the Fallen was included in Richmond Ballet’s Road to China program for its five-city tour through China. His New York City balletic premiere was in 2017 when Richmond Ballet performed Lift the Fallen at The Joyce Theater. Among his many personal and professional achievements, Ma made his Broadway debut in 2017 while working with Julie Taymor on the revival of David Henry Hwang’s Tony Award-winning play M. Butterfly, starring Clive Owen. Ma, alongside his husband, Thomas Landrum, and kids, Thompson and Mason have enjoyed making Richmond their home. Ma looks forward to leading Richmond Ballet towards a bright and inspiring future.