Oriented in relationship-building and growth, Cody Chen leads the Joffrey Ballet as General Manager, where he is responsible for strategy, financial leadership, and business administration of its artistic and production departments. Since assuming the role in 2022, the company has produced record-setting programs at the Lyric Opera House and toured across the United States and to Europe. In partnership with the Joffrey Academy of Dance and the Museum of Contemporary Arts of Chicago, Cody led the expansion of the Joffrey’s Winning Works program, a choreographic competition showcasing original and innovative works from emerging African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American dancemakers. His work with the Joffrey’s Community Engagement program produced Rita Finds Home, a co-production between the Joffrey Ballet and Miami City Ballet. This family-friendly and free program, which premiered at Chicago’s Navy Pier, continues to bring vibrant dance storytelling to neighborhoods across Chicago and Miami. Prior to his appointment at the Joffrey, Cody managed international dance and theatre tours
in Asia, Europe, and the Americas for companies including Armitage Gone! Dance, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Dance Heginbotham, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Bebe Miller Company, Elisa Monte Dance Company, Mark Morris Dance Group, Parsons Dance, Helen Simoneau Danse, Jin Xing Dance Theatre Shanghai, Yin Mei Dance, IMG Artists, Ping Pong Productions, Asia Society, The Apollo Theater, L.A. Theatreworks, Manhattan School of Music Opera Division, and Millbrook Playhouse. He also previously served as Associate Production Manager at Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis; Production Stage Manager at Alonzo King LINES Ballet in San Francisco; and Project Manager at Theatreworks (Singapore) in Singapore. Born in Xiamen, China, he holds a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature from Xiamen University in China.