Texas Ballet Theater

Ballet company in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.

Texas Ballet Theatre

General information
Name| Texas Ballet Theatre
Previous names| Fort Worth Ballet Association
Year founded| 1961; 63 years ago (1961)
Website| texasballettheater.org
Senior staff
Executive Director| Vanessa Logan
Artistic staff
Artistic Director| Tim O'Keefe
Other
Associated schools| Texas Ballet Theater School

The Texas Ballet Theater was founded by Margo Dean in 1961 as the Fort Worth Ballet Association, in Fort Worth, Texas. At the invitation of Dean, Fernando Schaffenburg was invited to direct the company the following year. It became a fully professional ballet company in 1985. In 1988, after the demise of Dallas Ballet, the company began adding performances of The Nutcracker in Dallas in a business partnership with The Dallas Opera, producing Nutcracker performances in The Music Hall and using The Dallas Opera Orchestra.

Fort Worth Ballet became the Fort Worth Dallas Ballet in 1994 when The Dallas Supporters of FWDB, a separate 501(c)3 corporation with its own board of directors, was established in Dallas. The Dallas Supporters' responsibility was primarily to raise contributed funds so that Fort Worth Dallas Ballet could perform a full season in Dallas in the Music Hall at Fair Park. A detailed joint venture agreement was established between the two organizations. FWDB – the Fort Worth organization – remained the primary employer and producing entity. All dancers, production staff and most administrative staff were employees of FWDB. The Dallas Supporters hired a small administrative staff. Each season, FWDB and The Dallas Supporters would negotiate an agreement outlining which and how many productions would occur in Dallas.

The two organizations operated under this two-corporation, two-board structure for nine seasons. In 2001, the Dallas Supporters were not able to raise the funds needed to produce the Ballet's Dallas season, forcing FWDB to cancel productions planned in Dallas for early 2002; one Fort Worth production was also cancelled. This occurred during a season when FWDB had no permanent artistic director. Bruce Marks was serving as artistic advisor and Bruce Simpson as Ballet-Master-in-Chief.

Over the 2002–2003 season, an agreement to merge the two corporations and their boards was created. The resulting organization was then renamed Texas Ballet Theater in 2003.[1]

Texas Ballet Theater, currently under artistic director of Ben Stevenson, O.B.E. is a resident company of Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth and the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas.[2]

## Artistic staff

[edit]

As of June 2023:[3]

* Tim O'Keefe - Artistic Director
* Ben Stevenson, O.B.E. - Artistic Director Laureate
* Li Anlin - Assistant Artistic Director

## Company dancers

[edit]

As of June 2023:[4]

### Principals

[edit]

* Carl Coomer
* Alexander Kotelenets
* Alexandra F. Light
* Paige Nyman
* David Schrenk
* Andre Silva
* Nicole Von Enck

### Soloists

[edit]

* Amanda Fairweather
* Rieko Hatato
* Adeline Melcher
* Riley Moyano
* Dara Oda
* Samantha Pille
* Katelyn Rhodes
* Kyle Torres-Hiyoshi
* Joamanuel Velazquez
* Brett Young

### Corps de Ballet

[edit]

* Valentin Batista
* Jackson Bayhi
* Lauren Leb
* Adam Phillips
* Anastasia Tillman
* Rayleigh Vendt
* Sophie Williams
* Henry Winn
* Hannah Wood

### Character Dancers

[edit]

* Cristian Jimenez

### Apprentices

[edit]

* Harrison Pickering
* Troy Santulli

### Trainees

[edit]

* AvaRose Dillon
* Kayla Fessler
* Jordan Lovelace
* Jason McClung

## Directors

[edit]

### Artistic Directors

[edit]

* Margo Dean 1961-1964
* Fernando Schaffenburg, 1964-
* Anthony Salatino, 1982-1985
* Nanette Glushak and Michel Rahn, 1985-1987
* Paul Mejia, 1987-1998
* Ben Houk, 1998-2001
* Bruce Marks, Artistic Advisor; Bruce Simpson, Ballet-Master-in-Chief, 2001-2002 (interim leadership)
* Ben Stevenson, Artistic Advisor, Tim O'Keefe, Ballet Master, 2002-2003 (interim leadership)
* Ben Stevenson, 2003-2022
* Tim O'Keefe, 2022-2023 (interim leadership)
* Tim O'Keefe, 2023-Present

### Executive Directors

[edit]

* Tom Adams
* Mark Denton, 1988-1990
* David Mallette, 1990-2005
* Gary Wortley, 2005
* John Toohey, 2006-2008
* Margo McCann, Managing Director, 2008–2014
* Terri Sexton, 2014-2016
* Vanessa Logan, 2016–present

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Evolution of TBT". Texas Ballet Theater. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
2. ^ "About TBT". Texas Ballet Theater. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
3. ^ "Leadership". texasballettheater.org. Archived from the original on 2020-08-11. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
4. ^ "Company Dancers". Texas Ballet Theater. Retrieved 1 June 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* Texas Ballet Theater website

* v
* t
* e

Dance companies in the United States

Ballet|

* Alabama Ballet
* Alameda Civic Ballet
* Alexandra Ballet
* Alonzo King LINES Ballet
* American Ballet Theatre
* American Repertory Ballet
* Anaheim Ballet
* Aspen Santa Fe Ballet
* Atlanta Ballet
* Atlanta Festival Ballet
* Ballet Arizona
* Ballet Austin
* Ballet Des Moines
* Ballet Fantastique
* Ballet Magnificat!
* Ballet Memphis
* BalletMet
* Ballet Minnesota
* Ballet Nouveau Colorado
* Ballet Quad Cities
* Ballet San Jose
* Ballet Theatre of Maryland
* Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
* Ballet West
* Ballez
* Bay Area Houston Ballet and Theatre
* Bay Pointe Ballet
* Boston Ballet
* California Riverside Ballet
* Carolina Ballet
* Cedar Lake
* Charlotte Ballet
* Chicago Ballet
* Chicago Festival Ballet
* Cincinnati Ballet
* Cleveland Ballet
* Colorado Ballet
* Complexions
* Concert Ballet of Virginia
* Dance Theatre of Harlem
* Dayton Ballet
* Eugene Ballet
* Folsom Lake Civic Ballet
* Greensboro Ballet
* Gwinnett Ballet Theatre
* Houston Ballet
* James Sewell Ballet
* Joffrey Ballet
* Kansas City Ballet
* Los Angeles Ballet
* Louisville Ballet
* Miami City Ballet
* Morphoses
* Mystic Ballet
* National Ballet Theater of Puerto Rico
* New Jersey Ballet
* New York City Ballet
* Oklahoma City Ballet
* Oregon Ballet Theatre
* Pacific Northwest Ballet
* Pennsylvania Ballet
* Pittsburgh Ballet
* Richmond Ballet
* San Francisco Ballet
* Sarasota Ballet
* Suzanne Farrell Ballet
* Texas Ballet Theater
* Tulsa Ballet
* The Washington Ballet

Contemporary|

* Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
* AXIS Dance Company
* Ballet Deviare
* Ballet Hispanico
* Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
* Dayton Contemporary Dance Company
* Dominic Walsh
* Hubbard Street
* Lar Lubovitch
* Martha Graham
* Momix
* Paul Taylor
* The Philadelphia Dance Company
* Pilobolus
* Ririe-Woodbury
* sjDANCEco
* Urban Bush Women
* Whim W'Him
* L.A. Dance Project

Other|

* Chicago Dance Crash
* Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater
* Ice Theatre of New York
* The LXD
* The Rockettes

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template