Cleveland Ballet (founded 2014)
Cleveland Ballet | |
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General information | |
Name | Cleveland Ballet |
Predecessor | Cleveland Ballet (founded 1972) |
Year founded | 2014 |
Founders |
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Founding artistic director | Gladisa Guadalupe |
Principal venue | Playhouse Square, Cleveland, Ohio |
Website | clevelandballet |
Senior staff | |
Chief Executive | Michael Krasnyansky |
Ballet Masters |
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Other | |
Official school | School of Cleveland Ballet |
Cleveland Ballet was founded in Cleveland in 2014 by Gladisa Guadalupe and Michael Krasnyansky.[2][3] It is the third incarnation of a Cleveland Ballet, having been preceded by establishments of the same name founded in 1935 and 1972. Guadalupe, an alumna of the School of American Ballet and a former principal dancer,[4] serves as artistic director, and Krasnyansky, a Ukrainian American businessman, serves as president & CEO.[5]
The company has grown from 5 to 26 dancers from 11 countries and territories over its initial 5 seasons,[6] and as of 2019[update] was one of the fastest growing professional ballet companies in the U.S.[2] In 2017, it became a resident company of Playhouse Square.[7]
History and growth
In October 2015, Cleveland Ballet's inaugural season debuted with the ballet Past. Present. Future. at Playhouse Square, characterized by The Plain Dealer as a "stylistically diverse and entertaining" production.[8] The company continued with a production of Coppélia in May 2016, described as "evidence of a company eager and able to do great things", with the dancers' performances as "mostly excellent".[9]
By its second season, 2016–2017, the ballet had grown to fourteen members.[10] It concluded the season with a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was reviewed as featuring "smartly-crafted, deceptively difficult, and wonderfully illustrative choreography".[10]
Cleveland Ballet became Playhouse Square's resident classical ballet company in 2017, during its third season.[7] This designation resulted in additional marketing funds, access to more rehearsal space, and priority in scheduling.[7]
In 2017, Cleveland Ballet also reintroduced regular holiday performances of Tchaikovsky's ballet, The Nutcracker, as a seasonal tradition in Cleveland—the first Nutcracker production by a local company at Playhouse Square since 1999.[11] Additional performances of the season included the 1909 ballet, Les Sylphides,[12] as well as Alice, a new ballet based on Lewis Carroll's book Alice in Wonderland.[13]
In the fourth season, 2018–2019, the company increased to 20 professional dancers.[14] In addition to The Nutcracker, Cleveland Ballet presented Fall Collection and Coppélia as main stage productions at Playhouse Square.[15][16][17]
In its fifth season, 2019–2020, the ballet grew to 25 dancers, performing Carmen at the Ohio Theatre in October [18] and offering 12 performances of The Nutcracker at the Hanna Theatre in December.[19] The season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, requiring the cancellation of the company's planned performance of Mozart's The Magic Flute.[20]
Productions
Ballet | Initial performance date | Venue | Choreographer(s) | Notes and sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
Past. Present. Future. | October 2015 | Ohio Theatre |
|
[8] |
Coppélia | May 2016 | Ohio Theatre | Ramon Oller | [9] |
A Celebration of Dance & Music | October 2016 | Ohio Theatre |
|
[21] |
The Nutcracker Tea | December 2016 | Andrews Osborne Academy | Gladisa Guadalupe | [22] |
Midsummer Night’s Dream | April 2017 | Ohio Theatre | Ramon Oller | [23] |
Les Sylphides | October 2017 | Ohio Theatre | Gladisa Guadalupe | [12] |
The Nutcracker Suite | December 2017 | Hanna Theatre | Gladisa Guadalupe | [11] |
Black and White Gala | March 2018 | Ohio Theatre | Gladisa Guadalupe | [24] |
Alice | May 2018 | Hanna Theatre | Margo Sappinton | [23] |
Fall Collection | October 2018 | Ohio Theatre | Gladisa Guadalupe | [15] |
The Nutcracker | December 2018 | Hanna Theatre |
|
[16][a] |
Coppélia | April 2019 | Ohio Theatre | Ramon Oller | [17] |
Carmen | October 2019 | Ohio Theatre | Gladisa Guadalupe | [18] |
The Magic Flute (canceled) | [May 2020] | Ohio Theatre | Gladisa Guadalupe | [25][b] |
- ^ The Nutcracker was repeated in December 2019 and is anticipated to be an annual production.[19]
- ^ The May 2020 The Magic Flute performances were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[26]
References
- ^ "Artistic Staff". Cleveland Ballet. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ a b "Cleveland Ballet". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
- ^ "Cleveland Ballet Is Reborn". Dance Magazine. 2015-12-07. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ Rosenberg, Donald (2013-07-19). "Former Cleveland Ballet dancer Gladisa Guadalupe determined to create classical company named Cleveland Ballet". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
- ^ Abelman, Bob (December 30, 2019). "Cleveland ballet scene on the rebound". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- ^ Hullett, Julie. "Great Ballet for a Great City" (PDF). Chagrin Valley Magazine. No. 2019–20. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- ^ a b c Lewis, Zachary (May 24, 2017). "Cleveland Ballet awarded residency at Playhouse Square". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ a b Sucato, Steve (October 6, 2015). "Cleveland Ballet makes admirable debut in partnership with Neos Dance Theatre (review)". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- ^ a b Lewis, Zachary (May 16, 2016). "Cleveland Ballet lands on its feet with charming new version of 'Coppelia' (review)". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ a b Sucato, Steve (April 10, 2017). "Cleveland Ballet rises from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ a b "Cleveland Ballet brings "The Nutcracker Suite" back to Playhouse Square, hosts children's auditions September 23 | Today's Family Magazine". www.todaysfamilymagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ a b Lewis, Zachary (2017-10-11). "Cleveland Ballet looking all directions on season opener". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ "Cleveland Ballet Creates An Unconventional Wonderland With Alice". clevelandmagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ Fall Collection, playbill from Playhouse Square. Dates: October 19–20, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- ^ a b Morrison, Laura. "The New Cleveland Ballet Heads Into its Fourth Season With a Playhouse Square Residency". Cleveland Scene. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ a b "The Nutcracker returns to Playhouse Square Dec. 12-16". Richland Source. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ a b Sucato, Steve (March 30, 2019). ""Cleveland Ballet to Perform Newly Enhanced Version of Ramón Oller's 'Coppélia'."". Arts Air. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ a b Lewis, Zachary (2019-05-14). "Cleveland Ballet announces new season of classic tales at Playhouse Square". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ a b "Gladisa Guadalupe, Madison Campbell, Jason Wang – "Nutcracker" Dances to Cleveland". WKYC. November 12, 2019. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ Morona, Joey (2020-04-13). "Playhouse Square to remain closed at least through May 31". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ "Gladisa Guadalupe - Cleveland Ballet Presents: A Celebration of Dance & Music 10/04/2016". wkyc.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ DeJong, Lisa (2016-12-19). "Cleveland Ballet's Nutcracker (photos)". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ a b Lewis, Zachary (2017-03-31). "Cleveland Ballet has new version of Bard's 'Midsummer'". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ Mendes, Jeff (April 19, 2018). "Cleveland Ballet's White & Black with a Touch Of Blue Gala". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ^ Sherin, Emelia (March 2, 2020). "original Costume Design Brightens Up Cleveland Ballet's The Magic Flute" (PDF) (Press release). Cleveland Ballet. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
- ^ Sherin, Emelia (March 21, 2020). "original Cleveland Ballet's Suspends Performances Of The Magic Flute, may 8th and May 9th" (PDF) (Press release). Cleveland Ballet. Retrieved 2020-08-20.