Houston Ballet

impact on not only the ballet community, but the world as a whole. Struggling with being an underprivileged, non-white dancer herself, she decided to give back and help those in similar situations. She established ABT’s Project Plié, which works to promote ethnic minorities and give them exposure to ballet (Collins). Similarly to how she was introduced to ballet, the project works in conjunction with the Boy’s and Girl’s Club, as well as ballet companies such as Orlando Ballet, Ballet Austin,…

the first time I saw the Nutcracker ballet. I pointed to the stage and said, “I want to do that.” I was a toddler and I found my passion. From that moment all the way to my freshman year of college, I thrived on the dedication and joy that ballet brought to my life. Spending my dance career from age three to nineteen studying ballet, I decided to expand my dance training. Trying out for my college’s dance team provided a different approach to dance than ballet gave me. I was extremely under…

Cinderella Ballet The cultural experience I chose to attend was the Gwinnett Ballet Company’s presentation of Cinderella. This experience was the first time I had ever been to a ballet or any kind of live play. I am the type of person who enjoys the outdoors, playing in the mud, hunting and fishing, and I am a tomboy by most people’s standards. When I was getting ready to go to the ballet, I was not sure what to expect, I felt as though I was going to be out of place. I thought only prim and…

December around the world: A holiday party, a magical gift, toy soldiers to fight the King of Mice, swirling snowflakes and a fantastic voyage to the Kingdom of Sweets to meet the beautiful Sugar Plum Fairy. On December 19th, 2015, the Greensboro Ballet performed their rendition of this story, the Nutcracker, at the Carolina Theatre of Greensboro. Every year, they always have the showing of the Nutcracker with new people dancing the multitudes of different characters. Every year, giving a new…

Ballet Folklorico could never be expressed fully only on a canvas one needs to actually practice it dance it and perform it see the faces of the audience of how astonished they are of all the turns and steps being conveyed on the stage. One could ever have…

young male ballet dancers during rehearsals and referring to some of the female ones with the four-letter word that begins with a “c,” as an informer, and as co-founding choreographer, with George Balanchine, of the New York City Ballet. Any man known for so much must have been a great man or a great scoundrel, or both. When I came to New York in 1988, Balanchine was already dead five years, but Jerry Robbins and City…

Over at NYCB, for the past three weeks night after night houses have been heavily sold and celebrities (Mandy Patinkin, Tommy Tune, and countless ballet luminaries from the past like Mikhail Baryshikov, Patricia McBride, Wendy Whelan, etc.) have been spotted at many performances. The Jerome Robbins Centennial Celebration was certainly a box office success. I didn't get to every all-Robbins performance but I did see three programs (Interplay/The Cage/Other Dances/Fanfare, In G Major/Afternoon of…

January 16, 1950 in Houston, Texas. She is the third child of poet and director Vivian Ayers, and orthodontist Arthur Allen. Debbie was 3 when she began dancing. By age 8 she set her goals and was determined to be a professional dancer. In 1957, Deborah’s parents divorced. This divorcee left Vivian, Debbie’s mother as the main caregiver or her and her siblings. In 1960, Vivian took Debbie and her siblings to live with her in Mexico. There Debbie trained with the Ballet Nacional de Mexico…

and classical ballet choreography, The Nutcracker became a holiday tradition in the United States a few years after its first full-length American production by dancer/choreographer Willam Christensen for the San Francisco Ballet on December 24, 1944. 95 years after the Russian debut of The Nutcracker Ben Stevenson’s The Nutcracker premiered in the Brown Theater at the Wortham on December 4, 1987. Since its Houston premiere Stevenson’s Nutcracker has been performed by Houston Ballet 916 times.…

History of Queensland Ballet Company The Queensland Ballet Company was established in 1960 by Charles Lisner OBE. Before establishing the Ballet Company, Charles trained and performed with Edouard Borovansky’s ballet company. Following his training with Edouard he moved to London and continued his study in dance at Sadler’s Wells Ballet School, later joining The Royal Ballet, Convent Garden. Charles established the Lisner Ballet Company in 1960 after moving back to Australia in 1953. The…