Mr. Allen has danced with the Louisville Ballet, Boston Ballet and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and has performed as a guest artist and teacher throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. He has also had the honor of performing at the prestigious Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., on two separate occasions, for Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton. Allen has an extensive background in the classics and Balanchine ballets, and has performed featured roles in ballets by Elisa Monte, Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Nacho Duato, James Kudelka, Hans Van Manen and Lucinda Hughey. In May of 2000 Mr. Allen was one of fourteen dancers asked to perform in Ocean Dance 2000 featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov and the White Oak Dance Project. In 2004 he was invited to perform with the Broadway cast in the Tony Award winning Musical, Movin’ Out, choreographed and directed by Twyla Tharp, music by Billy Joel.

He has choreographed 30 original works and classical ballets and 8 operas, has taught at The USA International Ballet Competition and many master classes and workshops in the US and internationally and has served on the jury of NBA Ballet’s Japanese National Ballet Competition in Tokyo, Japan.

In the summer of 1995 Todd returned to his hometown of Fort Walton Beach, Florida as Artistic Director/CEO of the Northwest Florida Ballet. Over the past 20 years, he has committed himself to his community by developing young minds and bodies through innovative dance education programs, creating an awareness of dance in Northwest Florida and exposing his audiences to a variety of classical and contemporary works. In 2003 Mr. Allen received the Cox Bravo Champion of the Arts Award in Northwest Florida for his work in establishing the NFB Académie, a free academic and artistic education elementary and middle school. He has also received the Elvie DeMarko Dance Achievement Award from The Arts Council of Northwest Florida and has served on various grant panels in the state of Florida for the Division of Cultural Affairs and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation in Baltimore, Md. His groundbreaking work in arts education was featured in Dance Teacher magazine (Nov, 2004) and in Teacher Magazine, a Department of Education publication (May 2005). The Northwest Florida Ballet is now one of the largest and most respected arts organizations in Northwest Florida and has received national recognition for its innovative programs.

In 1992 while dancing with Boston Ballet Mr. Allen choreographed his first ballet, IYANU, on dancers from the company for a performance benefiting the Boston Ballet Dancer’s Career Transition Fund. Blue Tango, a tribute to Astor Piazzolla and collaboration with Argentine composer Claudio Ragazzi, once again highlighting the talents of Boston Ballet Dancers and featuring a live tango quintet, followed this first work. After the premier performance Christine Temin of the Boston Globe described Mr. Allen as “a choreographer of genuine talent”. Allen went on to create works for Festival Ballet of Rhode Island, the dancers of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Mobile Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, Chattanooga Ballet, Ruth Mitchell Dance Theater, Pensacola Opera, Pensacola Symphony, Mobile Opera and his own company, Northwest Florida Ballet. Allen has since been described as “one of the most original and exciting choreographers I know” by Fernando Bujones.

In the summer of 1995 Todd Eric Allen was invited to return to his hometown of Fort Walton Beach, Florida as Director of the Northwest Florida Ballet. In the nine years he has held the position of Artistic Director, Allen has committed himself to his community by developing young minds and bodies through innovative dance education programs, creating an awareness of dance in Northwest Florida and exposing his audiences to a variety of classical and contemporary works. In 2003 Mr. Allen received the Cox Bravo Champion of the Arts Award in Northwest Florida for his work in establishing the NFB Académie, a free academic and artistic education elementary school located in the NFB studios. His groundbreaking work in arts education was featured in Dance Teacher magazine (Nov, 2004) and in Teacher Magazine, a Department of Education publication (May 2005). In 2005 he accepted a 3-month engagement to perform in the Broadway hit, Movin’ Out. He served as an instructor at the 2006 USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi.

In 1969 she founded the Fort Walton Beach Ballet, now the Northwest Florida Ballet, and under her direction, the company performed locally and throughout the State of Florida and the Southeast. Her ballet Silk Road Suite won the Panoply Choreographic Competition. She retired as Director of the company in 1996 and since that date, she has continued as a Master Teacher and a member of the Board of Directors.

Thereafter, Jackson was a founding member of HCA’s Performance Improvement Group whose mission was to enhance operational efficiency and strategic alignment. He is an alum of HCA’s Executive Development Program and also served as the Chief Operating Officer at East Houston Regional Medical Center before promoting to Fort Walton Beach in 2016. Todd is board certified in healthcare management and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Throughout his career, he has served on several boards and educational foundations, participated in numerous fundraising campaigns supporting local and national healthcare initiatives, and is a Paul Harris Fellow with Rotary International. Todd currently is active in the local Northwest Florida community with the Destin Chamber of Commerce, Northwest Florida Ballet, and Northwest Florida’s “Forward” Council aimed at enhancing growth, economic health, and education throughout the region. In addition to a bachelor’s degree in business, Todd has a Master of Healthcare Administration, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Todd and his wife, Tina, have twin children Houston and Emily.