Ellen Bar attended the School of American Ballet from the age of eight and was asked to join the New York City Ballet as a corps member in 1998. She danced featured roles in classic works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins and Christopher Wheeldon, and was promoted to soloist in 2006. She appeared in the feature film Center Stage directed by Nicholas Hytner, created an animated character in Barbie of Swan Lake, and earned an Associate’s Degree (Business) from Penn State University while dancing full-time. She is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree (English) at Columbia University. Ellen was part of the original ensemble cast of the NYCB revival of NY Export: Opus Jazz when fellow NYCB soloist Sean Suozzi conceived of a film adaptation of the ballet. Ellen and Sean developed, produced and creatively helmed the project from inception to completion. In May of 2011, Ellen retired from her 13-year career as a professional ballerina and is now Director of Media Projects at New York City Ballet.

Shot on location in New York City, NY Export: Opus Jazz takes Jerome Robbins‘ 1958 “ballet in sneakers” and reimagines it for a new generation in this feature-length scripted adaptation.  Starring an ensemble cast of New York City Ballet dancers, and photographed on 35mm, the film had its world premiere at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival, where it won the Emerging Visions Audience Award, and its national broadcast premiere was on PBS on March 24, 2010. The film has screened theatrically in 47 cities on six continents and was nominated for the prestigious global Rose d'Or Award.