Founding and
Artistic Director
Mark Roxey
Mark Roxey has created a humanistic organization where accessibility, equity, diversity and inclusion are the core principles. His goal has always been to include people of all abilities with differing viewpoints, experiences, and resources in both the training, exhibition, staffing, artists’ and board of director aspects of the company.
In his youth he began professionally as a b-bop, hip hop dancer in movies, commercials and with a group called Fresh Kids from Coney Island. From there he received a full scholarship from Joffrey Ballet
and thus began his career at the Joffrey Ballet Company II under the direction of Gage Bush and Richard England, and The Joffrey Ballet under the direction of the late Robert Joffrey. He later joined
American Repertory Ballet and Dayton Ballet as a principal dancer
under the direction of Dermote Burke and Marjorie Mussman.
His career enabled him to perform in works by legendary choreographers: George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Robert Joffrey,
Paul Taylor, Jose Limon, Alvin Ailey, Twyla Tharp, William Forsythe,
John Cranko, John Butler, Maurice Petipa, and August Bournonville, appearing as a Principal Artist in companies around the world with his partner and wife, Melissa Roxey.
Roxey Ballet was founded by exploring the humanities as, initially, Mark used break dance as a means of expression and education against racism and social inequality, then concert dance to communicate and explore ideas for greater understanding and to create transformational of ways of thinking about humanities subjects. His quest is to continually look for the human element, how to best exchange ideas or make a significant difference in the community, and articulate our humanity through our art form. For 30 years Mark Roxey has been transforming communities through interactive programs that communicate human, civil, disability rights, women's health
initiatives, bullying and the cultural condition.
Mark has served on the faculty of Princeton Ballet, Dayton Ballet,
Wright State University, Trotwood Madison City Schools, Northeast Youth Ballet and Raritan Valley Community College. He has also
worked as the dance program coordinator for the Hunterdon County Teen Arts Dance Festival, YMCA and adjudicator for the
State Teen Arts Festival.
Mark was voted the Voted # 1 Move & Shaker in Hunterdon County,
New Jersey and is the former President of Dance NJ. He is also an active member of Dance USA, IPAY, APAP, Arts Presenters, and the national Arts Access Task Force. In 2006 Mr. Roxey was honored by
VSA New Jersey with the New Jersey Governor's Award, the highest honor in New Jersey that recognizes the outstanding creative achievement of art educators and leaders.
As a person with a disability, Mark (and Melissa) founded and directed the dance and choreography Arts Access Program at
Metheny Medical Center in Peapack, New Jersey designing, staffing, and fulfilling a unique arts training program for persons with severe disabilities, working alongside disabled artists creating an avenue for them to actively participate in the creative process for more
than a decade.
With his wife, Melissa, Mark created youth ballet company that
became a world-class professional dance organization with a major east coast impact. He is the proud father of his two beautiful children, Mirabel and Benjamin Roxey.
