Oregon Ballet Theatre is a ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 company in Portland

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States.

History

The company is the result of the 1989 merger of Ballet Oregon and Pacific Ballet Theater. James Canfield, a former dancer with Joffrey Ballet

Joffrey Ballet

The Joffrey Ballet is a dance company in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1956. From 1995 to 2004, the company was known as The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. The company regularly performs classical ballets including Romeo & Juliet and The Nutcracker, while balancing those classics with pioneering modern...

 and principal dancer with Pacific Ballet Theater, served as Artistic Director of Oregon Ballet Theater from its inception until 2003.
Under his leadership the company repertoire grew to comprise over 80 ballets, from evening-length works to contemporary pieces.

Current

Christopher Stowell is the current artistic director. Prior to joining Oregon Ballet Theatre in 2003, he was a principal dancer with San Francisco Ballet

San Francisco Ballet

The San Francisco Ballet is a ballet company, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. SFB is the first professional ballet company in the United States...

 for 16 years. During Stowell's tenure, the company has added the work of Sir Frederick Ashton, Jerome Robbins

Jerome Robbins

Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...

, William Forsythe

William Forsythe (dancer)

William Forsythe is an American dancer and choreographer resident in Frankfurt am Main in Hessen. He is known internationally for his work with the Ballett Frankfurt and The Forsythe Company...

, Lar Lubovitch

Lar Lubovitch

Lar Lubovitch is an American choreographer and founded his own dance company, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968. Based in New York City, he and the company have toured worldwide....

 and Christopher Wheeldon

Christopher Wheeldon

Christopher Wheeldon is an international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Born in Somerset, England, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dancer at the age of 8. He attended the Royal Ballet School between the ages of 11 and 18...

 to its repertoire. New works have been created on the company by James Kudelka

James Kudelka

James Kudelka, OC, , is a choreographer, dancer, and director. He was the artistic director for the National Ballet of Canada from 1996 to 2005, now serving as the National Ballet's artist in residence....

, Trey McIntyre, Yuri Possokhov, Julia Adam and Nicolo Fonte. In addition, Christopher Stowell has choreographed nine new ballets with Oregon Ballet Theatre's dancers.

The company performs an annual five-program season at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts

Portland Center for the Performing Arts

The Portland Center for the Performing Arts is an organization within Metro that runs venues for live theatre, concerts, cinema, small conferences, and similar events in Portland, Oregon, United States....

 and conducts regional and national tours.

The company was featured in Pointe

Pointe (magazine)

Pointe is an international trade publication for ballet aimed toward ballet dancers and students. It is published by Macfadden Performing Arts Media, acquired with the purchase of Lifestyle Media, Inc. in 2006. Pointe covers international news on company debuts, competition results, and rising...

with principal dancer Kathi Martuza on the cover. In June 2008, the company made its Kennedy Center debut with a critically acclaimed performance of RUSH by Christopher Wheeldon

Christopher Wheeldon

Christopher Wheeldon is an international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Born in Somerset, England, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dancer at the age of 8. He attended the Royal Ballet School between the ages of 11 and 18...

.

Oregon Ballet Theatre also runs the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre. Damara Bennett, a former dancer with San Francisco Ballet and founder of City Ballet School in San Francisco is the director.

External links

• Oregon Ballet Theatre (official website)