Under Sklute’s leadership BW has toured extensively, appearing three times at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (2008 Ballet Across America – Serenade, and two week-long runs of The Nutcracker in 2012 and 2014); a 2013 engagement at Chicago’s famed Auditorium Theater with his The Sleeping Beauty and a mixed repertory program; twice at New York City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival (Les Biches, 2009; Grand Pas Paquita, 2012); and twice at the Chicago Dancing Festival (Serenade 2010; Sinfonietta 2011). In the past five years, the company has also appeared at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in 2011; The Laguna Dance Festival in 2010; Las Vegas with Nevada Ballet Theater in both 2010 (Sinfonietta) and 2012 (Jewels in collaboration with NBT and PNB); and Aspen, CO., New York, NY, Victoria BC and Dallas Texas all during the 2014/15 season.

In 2009, Ballet West graced the cover of Dance Magazine for the first time in 25 years and again was on the cover in 2013. Since 2007, the company has garnered numerous reviews and articles in such publications as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Dance Magazine, Ballet Review, and Pointe to name a few. In 2012 and 2013 Ballet West was the subject of the BBC Worldwide Production’s docu-drama television series Breaking Pointe which aired on The CW channel.

Sklute conceived Ballet West’s Fusion and Couture in Motion fashion show fundraisers, the Viewpointe panel discussion series, and its Shoe-in project, a collaboration with Utah local artists. He has lectured at the Art Institute of Chicago and Salt Lake Community College and has served on the boards of Chicago’s Dance for Life, Salt Lake Community College, School of the Arts Advisory Board, and the Salt Lake County Cultural Facilities Master Plan Advisory Board. He currently serves on the Board of the Gerald Arpino/Robert Joffrey Foundation. As a finalist judge and international representative for numerous ballet competitions including the Youth America Grand Prix, Los Angeles’ Spotlight Awards, The International Ballet Competition, The Japan Grand Prix, and an adjudicator for the American College Dance Festival Association, Sklute was listed as one of the 25 Movers and Shakers of the Utah Arts Scene in 2007. In 2014 he was named one of Utah’s Enlightened 50 and he received the Utah National Guard’s Bronze Minuteman Award for outstanding service to Utah and to the nation.

Passionate about dance education and the development of young dancers, Sklute actively oversees Ballet West’s Academy, teaching regularly and developing and guiding its syllabus and programs with the Academy faculty. Sklute is also a guest teacher and coach for dance programs and workshops worldwide, including Brigham Young University, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The Berlin State Ballet School, The Joffrey Ballet Schools in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, The Southwest Regional Ballet Festival, and The University of Cincinnati, to name a few. He is an adjunct professor for the University of Utah’s Ballet Department. 

A native of Berkeley, California, Sklute began dancing at the age of 16. His early training was at the Oakland Ballet and San Francisco Ballet schools.  After only two years of formal study he joined The Joffrey II Dancers (The Joffrey’s apprentice company). Two years later he was asked to join The Joffrey Ballet. Sklute was one of the last two artists chosen personally by Robert Joffrey.

Throughout his dancing career Sklute performed leading roles by such choreographers as Gerald Arpino, Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, John Cranko, Agnes DeMille, Robert Joffrey, Kurt Jooss, Jiri Kylian, James Kudelka, Leonide Massine, Jerome Robbins and Paul Taylor.  Along with The Joffrey Ballet, he has performed with New York’s Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Dallas and California’s Diablo Ballet. Sklute’s television credits include The Joffrey Ballet’s “Dance in America” filmings of Vaslav Nijinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps and Gerald Arpino’s production of Billboards, the role of The Old Soldier in WTTW’s filming of Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table and Herr Drosselmeyer in the WTTW one-hour special of Robert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker.  In 2003 he assisted with and appeared in Robert Altman’s feature film The Company; and in 2012 he appeared in The Joffrey Ballet: Mavericks of Dance, a documentary chronicling the history of The Joffrey Ballet, and First Position a documentary about YAGP; He both appeared in and was Creative Consultant for both seasons of the CW channel’s “Breaking Pointe.”

 Photo by Quinn Farley