Cincinnati Ballet
Encyclopedia
The Cincinnati Ballet is a professional ballet company
founded in 1958 in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The current artistic director is Victoria Morgan.
, came together to officially form the company. The first official auditions were in 1963 at the YMCA
where 41 dancers were chosen from the 200 audition hopefuls. Debut performances took place at the University of Cincinnati
’s Wilson Auditorium in 1964 and 1965. The repertoire consisted of ballets choreographed or staged by Oleg Sabline, Tania Karina, William Dollar
, and John Taras
.
Oleg Sabline, a European-trained dancer whose career had taken him through Europe and the United States, was appointed director for the first performances. He had originally come to Cincinnati to teach ballet and stage the classics at The University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).
By 1970, professional status was achieved when ten salaried dancers were hired. CCM faculty member James Truitte began to train dancers in the contemporary technique created by the American choreographer Lester Horton
. As the company dancers became proficient in Horton technique, they began to perform Horton’s choreography. As a result, Cincinnati Ballet Company earned national recognition for keeping this historic work alive.
However, by the mid-70’s, CBC was still first and foremost a ballet company with classical works in the repertoire, including Les Patineurs
, Pas de Quatre
and variations from The Sleeping Beauty, along with two Balanchine ballets, Concerto Barocco
and Serenade. Performances now took place at the Taft Theatre
and tours were added in Ohio
, and also in Puerto Rico
, the Virgin Islands
and at New York City’s Dance Festival in 1975.
The Nutcracker
was premiered in 1974 at Music Hall. Frisch’s Restaurants from Cincinnati sponsored the performances and has continued to do so. Today Frisch’s presents: The Nutcracker is a Cincinnati tradition.
Beginning in 1978, regular repertoire performances were also held at Music Hall, and the schedule expanded from three series to five by 1980. The company’s name was shortened to “Cincinnati Ballet,” and in 1983 a sister-city arrangement begun with New Orleans to further increase performing opportunities.
David McLain’s died in 1984 and Frederic Franklin took the helm as interim director. A permanent artistic director, Ivan Nagy
, was appointed in 1986. The company moved out of CCM, although it was still designated the official school. It was Nagy’s intention to have Cincinnati Ballet stand alone as a professional company. The company continued to perform at Music Hall but rehearsals were now in the Emery Building. A Hungarian native who had danced all over the world, Nagy knew many foreign dancers, and brought a number of them to Cincinnati. The arrival of highly experienced dancers began to raise the company to a new standard of performance. The company expanded to include five principals, nine soloists and twenty-three corps members. It joined the American Guild of Musical Artists
and added the SCPA Dance Department, along with the CCM Children’s Dance Division, as “feeder” institutions to provide apprentices and child performers.
A new Nutcracker, choreographed by Ben Stevenson
of the Houston Ballet
, was also performed every year in Knoxville as part of another sister-city arrangement. Repertoire included a full-length La Sylphide
and Balanchine’s Four Temperaments as well as pieces by contemporary choreographers such as Andre Prokovsky
, Mauricio Wainrot and Ronald Hynd
.
Nagy left in 1989 and three artistic directors came and went in quick succession. Richard Collins was the first. A British-trained dancer, and a director of promise, he was killed in a car accident. Nigel Burgoine succeeded him in 1992 and Peter Anastos in 1994. During his two years in Cincinnati, Anastos created the very successful ballet Peter Pan
with an original score by Carmon DeLeone. The ballet (now with the 2001 choreography by Septime Webre) was last performed in 2009, which also marked DeLeone’s 40th anniversary with Cincinnati Ballet.
and the Budig foundation, a new permanent home was built for the company. The Cincinnati Ballet Center on Central Parkway at Liberty Street opened in 1994. The Otto M. Budig Academy of Cincinnati Ballet was launched in 1996. Offices, dance studios, a training school, wardrobe/costume storage, and rehearsal space were all in the same complex. The intimate Mickey Jarson Kaplan Performance Studio was added in 2005.
The Aronoff Center
for the Arts became the permanent home for the repertoire series of performances and a number of ballets were acquired. “Americana” ballets such as Agnes DeMille’s Rodeo, and modern dance pieces by Paul Taylor
challenged the dancers and intrigued audiences. In 1996, Balanchine’s full-length Jewels, was performed by the company. Other contemporary choreographers included Kirk Peterson, Kathryn Posin, Stanton Welch and Val Caniparoli, Trey McIntyre in addition to Nigel Burgoine and Victoria Morgan, who was appointed artistic director in 1997.
Artistic Director and CEO Morgan, whose tenure continues at the present time, has honored the Cincinnati Ballet tradition of performing not only new works, but also keeping the historic repertoire alive. An example was the tribute to Frederic Franklin and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
in 2002. The ballets presented were Devil’s Holiday by Frederick Ashton, plus the third movement of Seventh Symphony (music by Beethoven), and Gaîte Parisienne, choreographed by Leonide Massine.
Franklin restaged the two remaining extant movements from Seventh Symphony two seasons later, aided by Cincinnati Ballet’s Principal Ballet Mistress and former Cincinnati Ballet soloist dancer Johanna Bernstein Wilt, who researched and recreated all three Seventh Symphony movements from the original 16 mm film with coaching from Franklin.
Also of note were three collaborations between Cincinnati Ballet and BalletMet Columbus. Together the companies presented Balanchine’s Jewels (2003), Stars and Stripes
(2006) and a full-length production of Swan Lake
(2009).
In 2008 Devon Carney, a former principal dancer and Ballet Master with Boston Ballet
, was appointed as Associate Artistic Director. In addition to providing his own choreography for six pieces, Carney has restaged and added fresh choreography to full-length classics such as Giselle
, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake to this date and during his five previous years as Ballet Master-in-Chief.
, which resulted in the presentation of a joint program both at The Aronoff Center and Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center in 2008.
, Sara Nieto, Melissa Hale, Patricia Rozow, Charles Flachs, Suzette Boyer, Philip Rosemond, Meridith Benson, Rebecca Rodriguez, Trinidad Vives, Marcello Angelini, Victoria Hall, Daniela Buson, René Micheo, Karyn Lee Connell, Alexei Kremnev, Anna Reznik, Kristi Capps, Cervilio Amador, Anthony Krutzkamp, Janessa Touchet, Adiarys Almeida, Joseph Gatti and Dmitri Trubchanov.
Ballet company
A ballet company is a group of dancers who perform ballet, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-round basis, except in the United States, where contracts for part of the year are the norm...
founded in 1958 in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The current artistic director is Victoria Morgan.
Founding
Organizing founders Nancy Bauer, Virginia Garrett and Myrl Laurence first chartered the company as the “Cincinnati Civic Ballet” in 1958. Then in 1962, seven ballet teachers in the Cincinnati area, including Anneliese von OettingenAnneliese von Oettingen
Anneliese von Oettingen was a ballerina and influential ballet teacher and choreographer. After training in Berlin and London, she taught in Berlin during World War II. After the war she moved to Cincinnati, where she taught ballet and modern dance, and helped found the Cincinnati Civic Ballet...
, came together to officially form the company. The first official auditions were in 1963 at the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
where 41 dancers were chosen from the 200 audition hopefuls. Debut performances took place at the University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
’s Wilson Auditorium in 1964 and 1965. The repertoire consisted of ballets choreographed or staged by Oleg Sabline, Tania Karina, William Dollar
William Dollar
William Dollar was an American ballet dancer born in St. Louis but he was reared in East St. Louis, Illinois. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Dollar lived at 491 North 22nd Street and operated a grocery store and meat market in East St. Louis.William studied with George Balanchine, Michel...
, and John Taras
John Taras
John Taras was a prominent American balletmaster and choreographer. Born on the Lower East Side of New York City to Ukrainian parents, he was sent at age 16 to study ballet with Michel Fokine, Anatole Vilzak and Ludmila Shollar, and later to the School of American Ballet...
.
Oleg Sabline, a European-trained dancer whose career had taken him through Europe and the United States, was appointed director for the first performances. He had originally come to Cincinnati to teach ballet and stage the classics at The University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).
Early history
In 1966, the directorship passed on to David McLain. He also headed the Dance Division of CCM. CCM gave the young company the advantages of studio space for classes and rehearsals, access to talented students, and the use of the Wilson Auditorium for performances. As the organization outgrew the profile of a non-professional civic company, the company was re-named “Cincinnati Ballet Company” in 1968 and gained Carmon DeLeone as music director.By 1970, professional status was achieved when ten salaried dancers were hired. CCM faculty member James Truitte began to train dancers in the contemporary technique created by the American choreographer Lester Horton
Lester Horton
Lester Horton was an American dancer, choreographer, and teacher.-Early years:Lester Iradell Horton was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on January 23, 1906. His parents were Iradell Horton and Pollyanna Horton....
. As the company dancers became proficient in Horton technique, they began to perform Horton’s choreography. As a result, Cincinnati Ballet Company earned national recognition for keeping this historic work alive.
However, by the mid-70’s, CBC was still first and foremost a ballet company with classical works in the repertoire, including Les Patineurs
Les Pâtineurs
Les Patineurs or The Skaters or Die Schlittschuhläufer , Op. 183, is a waltz by Émile Waldteufel.Known in English as The Skaters' Waltz, it was composed in 1882 and was inspired by the Cercle des Patineurs or 'Rink of Skaters' at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris...
, Pas de Quatre
Pas de Quatre
Pas de Quatre is a ballet divertissement choreographed by Jules Perrot in 1845, on the suggestion of Benjamin Lumley, Director at His Majestys Theatre to music composed by Cesare Pugni....
and variations from The Sleeping Beauty, along with two Balanchine ballets, Concerto Barocco
Concerto Barocco
Concerto Barocco is a ballet made on students at the School of American Ballet by George Balanchine, subsequently balletmaster and co-founder of New York City Ballet, to Johann Sebastian Bach's Concerto in D minor for Two Violins, BWV 1043...
and Serenade. Performances now took place at the Taft Theatre
Taft Theatre
The Taft Theatre is a 2,500-seat theater, located in Cincinnati, Ohio, at 317 East Fifth Street. The theatre was built in 1928, as evidenced by its Art Deco interior. All seats are unobstructed, giving every seat a clear view of the stage. It is part of the Masonic Temple Building at Fifth and...
and tours were added in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and also in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, the Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
and at New York City’s Dance Festival in 1975.
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
was premiered in 1974 at Music Hall. Frisch’s Restaurants from Cincinnati sponsored the performances and has continued to do so. Today Frisch’s presents: The Nutcracker is a Cincinnati tradition.
Beginning in 1978, regular repertoire performances were also held at Music Hall, and the schedule expanded from three series to five by 1980. The company’s name was shortened to “Cincinnati Ballet,” and in 1983 a sister-city arrangement begun with New Orleans to further increase performing opportunities.
David McLain’s died in 1984 and Frederic Franklin took the helm as interim director. A permanent artistic director, Ivan Nagy
Ivan Nagy
Ivan Nagy may refer to:* Ivan Böszörményi-Nagy , Hungarian-American psychiatrist* Ivan Nagy , Hungarian-American film director...
, was appointed in 1986. The company moved out of CCM, although it was still designated the official school. It was Nagy’s intention to have Cincinnati Ballet stand alone as a professional company. The company continued to perform at Music Hall but rehearsals were now in the Emery Building. A Hungarian native who had danced all over the world, Nagy knew many foreign dancers, and brought a number of them to Cincinnati. The arrival of highly experienced dancers began to raise the company to a new standard of performance. The company expanded to include five principals, nine soloists and twenty-three corps members. It joined the American Guild of Musical Artists
American Guild of Musical Artists
The American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO is the American labor union that represents 8,000 current and retired opera singers, ballet and other dancers, opera Directors, backstage production personnel at opera and dance companies, and figure skaters.-Jurisdiction:According to its website it...
and added the SCPA Dance Department, along with the CCM Children’s Dance Division, as “feeder” institutions to provide apprentices and child performers.
A new Nutcracker, choreographed by Ben Stevenson
Ben Stevenson
Ben Stevenson, OBE , is a former ballet dancer with Britain's Royal Ballet and English National Ballet, co-director of National Ballet in Washington, D.C...
of the Houston Ballet
Houston Ballet
The Houston Ballet, operated by the Houston Ballet Foundation, is the fourth-largest professional ballet company in the United States, based in Houston, Texas. The foundation also maintains a ballet academy, the Ben Stevenson Academy, which trains more than half of the company's dancers...
, was also performed every year in Knoxville as part of another sister-city arrangement. Repertoire included a full-length La Sylphide
La Sylphide
La Sylphide is one of the world's oldest surviving romantic ballets. There were two versions of the ballet; the version choreographed by the Danish balletmaster August Bournonville is the only version known to have survived....
and Balanchine’s Four Temperaments as well as pieces by contemporary choreographers such as Andre Prokovsky
André Prokovsky
André Prokovsky was a principal dancer with New York City Ballet from 1963 to 1967 and roles in George Balanchine’s 1965 Pas de Deux and Divertissement and 1966 Brahms–Schoenberg Quartet with Melissa Hayden his partner in both.Born of Russian parents Prokovsky made his stage debut in 1954 with the...
, Mauricio Wainrot and Ronald Hynd
Ronald Hynd
Ronald Hynd is an English choreographer, .Ballets Ronald Hynd has choreographed include: The Merry Widow.-External links:*...
.
Nagy left in 1989 and three artistic directors came and went in quick succession. Richard Collins was the first. A British-trained dancer, and a director of promise, he was killed in a car accident. Nigel Burgoine succeeded him in 1992 and Peter Anastos in 1994. During his two years in Cincinnati, Anastos created the very successful ballet Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
with an original score by Carmon DeLeone. The ballet (now with the 2001 choreography by Septime Webre) was last performed in 2009, which also marked DeLeone’s 40th anniversary with Cincinnati Ballet.
Later history
Through the Kaplan FoundationKaplan Foundation
The Kaplan Foundation is a foundation dedicated to the scholarship and preservation of the music of Gustav Mahler set up by amateur conductor and businessman Gilbert Kaplan....
and the Budig foundation, a new permanent home was built for the company. The Cincinnati Ballet Center on Central Parkway at Liberty Street opened in 1994. The Otto M. Budig Academy of Cincinnati Ballet was launched in 1996. Offices, dance studios, a training school, wardrobe/costume storage, and rehearsal space were all in the same complex. The intimate Mickey Jarson Kaplan Performance Studio was added in 2005.
The Aronoff Center
Aronoff Center
The Aronoff Center is a large performing arts center in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Events that can typically be found at the Aronoff Center include: plays, ballet, popular music concerts, stand-up comedy shows, and musicals...
for the Arts became the permanent home for the repertoire series of performances and a number of ballets were acquired. “Americana” ballets such as Agnes DeMille’s Rodeo, and modern dance pieces by Paul Taylor
Paul Taylor
Paul Taylor is one of the foremost American choreographers of the 20th century.Paul Taylor is the last living member of the pantheon that created America’s indigenous art of modern dance...
challenged the dancers and intrigued audiences. In 1996, Balanchine’s full-length Jewels, was performed by the company. Other contemporary choreographers included Kirk Peterson, Kathryn Posin, Stanton Welch and Val Caniparoli, Trey McIntyre in addition to Nigel Burgoine and Victoria Morgan, who was appointed artistic director in 1997.
Artistic Director and CEO Morgan, whose tenure continues at the present time, has honored the Cincinnati Ballet tradition of performing not only new works, but also keeping the historic repertoire alive. An example was the tribute to Frederic Franklin and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was a ballet company created by members of the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo in 1938 after Léonide Massine and René Blum had a falling-out with the co-founder Wassily de Basil...
in 2002. The ballets presented were Devil’s Holiday by Frederick Ashton, plus the third movement of Seventh Symphony (music by Beethoven), and Gaîte Parisienne, choreographed by Leonide Massine.
Franklin restaged the two remaining extant movements from Seventh Symphony two seasons later, aided by Cincinnati Ballet’s Principal Ballet Mistress and former Cincinnati Ballet soloist dancer Johanna Bernstein Wilt, who researched and recreated all three Seventh Symphony movements from the original 16 mm film with coaching from Franklin.
Also of note were three collaborations between Cincinnati Ballet and BalletMet Columbus. Together the companies presented Balanchine’s Jewels (2003), Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes (ballet)
Stars and Stripes is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine in 1958, using original music by John Philip Sousa and performed in 5 acts . It lasts an average of 28 minutes...
(2006) and a full-length production of Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
(2009).
In 2008 Devon Carney, a former principal dancer and Ballet Master with Boston Ballet
Boston Ballet
Boston Ballet, founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams, was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. Boston Ballet’s national and international reputation developed under the leadership of Artistic Directors Violette Verdy , Bruce Marks , and Anna-Marie Holmes...
, was appointed as Associate Artistic Director. In addition to providing his own choreography for six pieces, Carney has restaged and added fresh choreography to full-length classics such as Giselle
Giselle
Giselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...
, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake to this date and during his five previous years as Ballet Master-in-Chief.
Performers
Cincinnati Ballet is made up of dancers from all over the United States and the world. They are a group of versatile performers who approach both traditional and contemporary roles with individual flair and sensational technique. They have now performed at The Aronoff Center for over a decade and continue to tour in far-off American cities, including Anchorage, Alaska, and in Europe as well. During the 2007–08 season, Morgan negotiated a performing partnership with The Suzanne Farrell BalletSuzanne Farrell Ballet
The Suzanne Farrell Ballet is a ballet company housed at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., and founded in 2000 by Suzanne Farrell, one of George Balanchine's most celebrated ballerinas, and a former New York City Ballet principal dancer. Today, the ballet is a full-fledged company produced by...
, which resulted in the presentation of a joint program both at The Aronoff Center and Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center in 2008.
Dancers of note – earlier years through present times
Colleen Geisting, Patrick Hinson, Richard Early, Peggy Lyman, Cynthia Ann Roses, Kimberly Smiley, Donna Grisez, Roman JasinskiRoman Jasinski
Roman Jasinski was a Polish ballet dancer who performed from 1933-1950 with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. A premier danseur, he was recognized for his elegance and style. After retiring from performing, he and his wife Moscelyne Larkin founded a ballet school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and in 1956,...
, Sara Nieto, Melissa Hale, Patricia Rozow, Charles Flachs, Suzette Boyer, Philip Rosemond, Meridith Benson, Rebecca Rodriguez, Trinidad Vives, Marcello Angelini, Victoria Hall, Daniela Buson, René Micheo, Karyn Lee Connell, Alexei Kremnev, Anna Reznik, Kristi Capps, Cervilio Amador, Anthony Krutzkamp, Janessa Touchet, Adiarys Almeida, Joseph Gatti and Dmitri Trubchanov.
Principal dancers
- Cervilio Miguel Amador
- Oğulcan Borova
- Anthony Krutzkamp
- Janessa Touchet
- Sarah Hairston
Corps de ballet
- Danielle Bausinger
- Joshua Bodden
- Courtney Connor
- Selahattin Erkan
- Liang Fu
- Courtney Hellebuyck
- Stephen Jacobsen
- Jill Marlow
- Maizyalet Velázquez
- Kelly Yankle