Guttridge began his career as a communications professional at New York City Ballet, contributing to press campaigns around major festivals celebrating the company’s founders, including Balanchine 100: The Centennial Celebration (2003-2004), Kirstein 100: A Tribute (2007), and the Jerome Robbins Celebration (2008). He served as the press representative on tour to Tokyo, Japan (Bunkamura Hall); and during regular seasons at The Kennedy Center (Washington, D. C.) and The Saratoga Performing Arts Center (Saratoga Springs, NY). Most recently Guttridge was Associate Director of Communications for the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) where he greatly expanded media coverage of the institution’s gala fundraisers, including the farewell celebration of outgoing President Karen Brooks Hopkins, and contributed to institutional press campaigns around a year-long 150th anniversary celebration and the launch of the institution’s third venue (BAM Fisher).
New York City Center (Arlene Shuler, President & CEO) has played a defining role in the cultural life of the city since 1943. It was Manhattan’s first performing arts center, dedicated by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia with a mission to make the best in music, theater, and dance accessible to all audiences. Today, City Center is home to many distinguished companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, City Center’s Principal Dance Company, as well as Manhattan Theatre Club; a roster of renowned national and international visiting artists; and its own critically acclaimed and popular programs. The Tony-honored Encores! musical theater series has been hailed as “one of the very best reasons to be alive in New York.” In summer 2013, City Center launched Encores! Off-Center,a series that features landmark Off Broadway musicals filtered through the lens of today’s most innovative artists. Dance has been integral to the theater’s mission from the start, and dance programs, including the annual Fall for Dance Festival, remain central to City Center’s identity. Vital partnerships with arts organizations including Jazz at Lincoln Center and London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre enhance City Center’s programmatic offerings. City Center is dedicated to providing educational opportunities to New York City students and teachers through programs such as Encores! In Schools and the Young People’s Dance Series. Special workshops cater to families, seniors, and other groups, while events such as the Fall for Dance DanceTalk series offer learning opportunities to the general public. In October 2011, City Center completed an extensive renovation project to revitalize and modernize its historic theater.
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