Janet Pichard’s eagle eye for detail served her well as a dance teacher. Although she recently retired from teaching, for more than a decade she’s been handling day to day operations at the Tallahassee Ballet as the CEO.

Her work as an educator and administrator gives her a broad view of the organization as a whole. Pichard has witnessed the company grow and change over the course of many years. 

“A lot of what I do is figuring out how to achieve Artistic Director Tyrone Brooks’ vision,” says Pichard. “I couldn’t be prouder of the wonderful staff, board of directors, parents and students. My job would not be a success if it weren’t for them.” 

The Tallahassee Ballet made a swift adjustment to COVID-19, providing online and Zoom classes for students in March. Though the May recital was cancelled, many parents opted to donate their performance fees to support the school and company. The next two weeks will be filled with camps and a summer intensive, which enforce handwashing, temperature checks, limited class sizes, and sanitization. 

On the artistic side, Pichard says she and Brooks have cooked up “Performance Fridays.” After their May performance was cancelled, they put together an online, encore performance via YouTube for subscribers and ticketholders. “Performance Fridays” is an extension of this idea, and features a curated set of past performances on their YouTube channel from Friday to Sunday. 

“We made a video of all of our dancers behind the scenes on how they are coping with COVID, spending their time and staying in shape,” says Pichard. “After that, we decided that we needed to continue to reach out to our patrons, and so Performance Fridays takes them through the summer.” 

Pichard’s first exposure to dance was also through a screen. As a child, she delighted in watching and moving along with the June Taylor Dancers on Jackie Gleason’s television variety program. She didn’t enroll in her first formal dance class until college and took to it quickly given her natural rhythm. 

She graduated from Florida State University with degrees in education before teaching at the Sharon Davis School of Dance. Pichard describes herself as a strict instructor balanced out with a sense of humor. Her methods include hands on corrections that aim to physically place dancers into proper alignment.

“I go through an explanation of how they can get to where they want to go and love to see the surprise and joy on their faces when they can do it,” says Pichard. 

Pichard opened her own studio, Dancer’s Image, for six years before joining the Tallahassee Ballet as Executive Director. Prior to that she was a marketer and advertiser for her own PR company as well as for Roland Publishing. Her transition into arts administration was seamless as she applied her skills as a business owner to the Ballet. 

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