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Houston Ballet

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Houston Ballet
General information
NameHouston Ballet
Year foundedLate 1970s
Websitehoustonballet.org
Senior staff
Executive DirectorJames Nelson
Artistic staff
Artistic DirectorStanton Welch AM
Julie Kent (dancer)[1]
Other
Associated schoolsHouston Ballet Academy

Houston Ballet, operated by Houston Ballet Foundation, is a professional ballet company based in Houston, Texas.[2] The company consists of 59 dancers and produces over 85 performances per year.[2][3][4] It is the 5th largest ballet company in the United States (by number of dancers).[2]

History

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Beginning in the 1930s, Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.[5] spent a week during the Christmas season performing for Houston audiences for 11 years.[6] This led patrons to express a growing desire for a resident dance company within Houston.[citation needed]

The Houston Ballet has its origins in the Houston Ballet Academy, which was established in 1955 under the leadership of Tatiana Semenova, a former dancer with the Ballets Russes.[7] In 1969, the foundation formed a professional ballet company under the direction of Nina Popova, also a former dancer with the Ballet Russes and the American Ballet Theatre.[8]

Direction

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From 1976–2003, Ben Stevenson, a former dancer with Britain's Royal Ballet and English National Ballet, served as artistic director of Houston Ballet.[9] Under Stevenson's leadership, the ballet transformed "from regional to international prominence".[10]

In 1989, Kenneth MacMillan joined the company as artistic associate and worked with the company from 1989 until his death in 1992.[11] Christopher Bruce was named resident choreographer. Bruce, who currently holds the title of associate choreographer, has set nine works on the company, including four pieces created especially for Houston Ballet.[12]

In March 1995, Trey McIntyre assumed the position of choreographic associate.[13] McIntyre has created seven world premieres for the company, including his first full-length production of Peter Pan.[14] In 2003, Australian choreographer Stanton Welch was appointed as Artistic Director and has created numerous works for Houston Ballet.[15]

For the company's 40th season in 2010, Stanton Welsh created a new production of La Bayadère.[16]

In 2011 the company was the first company to win the Rudolf Nureyev Prize for New Dance, allowing the company to purchase a new piece by Jorma Elo.[17]

In 2012, James Nelson was promoted from General Manager of Houston Ballet to the role of Executive Director. Julie Kent joined Welch as co-artistic director in July 2023.[18][19]

Dance

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In 1982, Sandra Organ, a Nebraska native, joined the Houston Ballet and became its first African American ballerina at the age of 19. She was promoted to soloist, and remained with the Houston Ballet until her retirement, fifteen years later.

In 1990 Lauren Anderson became the Houston Ballet's first African-American principal dancer. Anderson continued to dance with the Houston Ballet until her retirement in 2006 at the age of 41.[20]

In July 1995, the Houston Ballet became the first full American ballet company invited by the Chinese government to tour the country.[9] An estimated 500 million people witnessed Houston Ballet's production of Romeo and Juliet when the company's opening night performance was telecast live on Chinese television.[21]

Orchestra

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Houston Ballet's first performance with a live orchestra was with the Houston Symphony. Together, they performed Nutcracker in December 1972.

In 1983, Stevenson hired Glenn Langdon as music director. Langdon implemented the concept of a fully auditioned orchestra and increased the size of the string section. Langdon left Houston Ballet in 1989. After his departure, a series of guest conductors led the next season, including John Lanchbery and Jack Everly.[citation needed]

Ermanno Florio, who had been a guest conductor during the 1991–92 season, was appointed music director in 1992. The Houston Ballet Orchestra currently[when?] sits at 61 part-time professional musicians with 56 core members. Additionally, there are eight full-time professional pianists and several part-time pianists and percussionists who play for classes and rehearsals.

Center for Dance

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Houston Ballet Center for Dance, the administrative headquarters

With 115,00 square feet spread over six floors and containing nine studios, Houston Ballet Center for Dance is the largest building dedicated to a professional dance company in the United States.[citation needed] The first floor of the Center for Dance houses the Margaret Alkek Williams Dance Lab, a facility that is regularly used for educational performances, lecture series, design meetings, and rehearsals. In addition to administrative offices, the Center has a costume shop, shoe room, music library, the Houston Ballet Academy Studios, the Professional Company's Studios and Dressing Rooms.

Excavation of the building site began in July 2009. On March 10, 2010, Houston Ballet hosted a party with dancers, staff members, donors, and friends to sign the last construction beam. In the end, the new building cost $46.6 million. Staff moved into the building in February 2011, and then-Mayor Annise Parker presided over the ribbon-cutting on April 9.[citation needed]

Displacement by Hurricane Harvey

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On August 26, 2017, Hurricane Harvey hit the city of Houston. Both the Houston Ballet Center for Dance and the Wortham Theater Center took on water, leaving the company and Academy without rehearsal and performance space just as the 2017–18 season was set to open. Nevertheless, the Houston premiere of Kenneth MacMillan’s Mayerling took place on schedule thanks to The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.[citation needed]

While Hurricane Harvey affected operations at Houston Ballet temporarily, the damage incurred within the Wortham Theater Center, was extensive. The Wortham received 15 feet of water and remained closed for the rest of the season. Forty years of Houston Ballet history was lost to floodwaters. In order to preserve the 2017–18 season, Houston Ballet launched its Hometown Tour and presented its planned season at alternate venues, including The Hobby Center for Performing Arts, Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land, Houston Grand Opera's Resilience Theater at the George R. Brown Convention Center, the General Assembly Hall at the George R. Brown Convention Center, and Jones Hall.

Houston Ballet on film

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In 2009, the autobiography of former Houston Ballet Principal dancer Li Cunxin - Mao’s Last Dancer - was made into a film by Australian director Bruce Beresford. It premiered on September 13, 2009, at the Toronto International Film Festival, was nominated for several Australian film awards, and won the AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score.

After its premiere in Paris in 2013, Sons de L’âme was formatted into a documentary film by director Olivier Simonnet. This documentary was presented at the 2014 Houston Cinema Arts Festival.

Nutcracker Market

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Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market was conceived by trustee Preston John Frazier Jr. in 1981 as a European style bazaar (Christmas market) to support dance scholarships, and is now a four-day event in November.[22] [23]

References

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  1. ^ "Houston Ballet announces Julie Kent as co-artistic director" (PDF). houstonballet.org. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Houston Ballet | History".
  3. ^ "Charity Navigator Rating – Houston Ballet". Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  4. ^ "Dancers". Houston Ballet. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  5. ^ "Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (Broadway, City Center, 1944)". Playbill.
  6. ^ "Records of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, circa 1936-1978". The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts.
  7. ^ "Tatiana Semenova Papers". Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  8. ^ Cunningham, Carl (November 8, 2009). "Houston Ballet: The Fledgling Years 1967–1976". Playbill Arts. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  9. ^ a b "Information about Houston Ballet". The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  10. ^ Pasles, Chris (June 12, 2003). "Houston Ballet names director". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  11. ^ "PlaybillArts: Features: Houston Ballet Presents Song of the Earth". Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  12. ^ Bremser, Martha (1999). Fifty contemporary choreographers. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-415-10363-3. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  13. ^ "Dance | Alumni". Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  14. ^ "A tall order for Trey McIntyre: choreographer sets Houston Ballet's Peter Pan". Dance Magazine. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  15. ^ "Stanton Welch Repertoire". Houston Ballet. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  16. ^ Gustin, Marin (March 3, 2010). "Bitten by La Bayadere". Houston Press. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017.
  17. ^ "A New Dance Center for Houston". New York Times. New York, United States. April 8, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  18. ^ Hernández, Javier C. (October 21, 2022). "Julie Kent, Renowned Former Ballerina, Will Lead Houston Ballet". New York Times.
  19. ^ Kaufman, Sarah L. (October 21, 2022). "Washington Ballet artistic director Julie Kent is stepping down". Washington Post.
  20. ^ Cosgriff, Gabrielle (November 26, 2006). "Houston Ballet's Lauren Anderson readies her final bow". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  21. ^ Chapman, Betty T. (December 27, 2009). "Houston Ballet Co. continues to grow by leaps and bounds". Houston Business Journal. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  22. ^ https://www.chron.com/life/article/nutcracker-market-founder-preston-j-frazier-dies-3577857.php [bare URL]
  23. ^ https://www.houstonballet.org/about/nutcracker-market/explore/nutcracker-market1/ [bare URL]
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