Nashville Ballet

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Nashville Ballet

Nashville Ballet is a professional ballet company in Tennessee. Founded in 1986 and based in Nashville, Tennessee, it presents a repertoire of classic and contemporary works by a variety of choreographers, including Artistic Director Paul Vasterling.[1]

The company is composed of 32 professional dancers from around the world. NB2, Nashville Ballet's official second Company, prepares aspiring dancers for a mainstage career through intensive training and performance opportunities.

History

  • In 1974, a group of dancers and teachers opened the Dancers Studio, which offered ballet and other dance classes to the public, including Opryland USA theme park performers.
  • After several productions following their 1981 debut, the group evolves into Nashville City Ballet.[1]
  • Nashville City Ballet becomes a professional performance company in 1986 and hires Dane LaFontsee as its first artistic director.[2] A year later, the company was renamed to Nashville Ballet.[1]
  • Co-chaired by Clare Armistead and Elizabeth Nichols, the organization hosted its first Ballet Ball fundraiser, originally known as Masked Ball, in 1989.[3] Paul Vasterling is also hired as a company member.
  • In 1991, Nashville Ballet relocated to a building on Sidco Drive to provide larger rehearsal studios and expand the offerings.[4]
  • After serving as rehearsal director, Paul Vasterling was appointed Nashville Ballet Artistic Director in 1998.[5]
  • In 1999, the group traveled abroad for the first time to perform in Basel, Switzerland.[6] Among other international tours, they went to Buenos Aires and other cities across Argentina.[7]
  • In 2000, the company purchased its current home on 3630 Redmon Street. The building was renovated and Nashville Ballet became the first performing arts group in Nashville to own its own building.[6]
  • Nashville Ballet reimagined The Nutcracker as Nashville’s Nutcracker by Paul Vasterling in 2008.[8]
  • In 2009, the Company debuted their first original production of Carmina Burana.[9]
  • In 2014, Nashville Ballet launched its ELEVATE Capital Campaign to help expand their facilities.[10] Following a large fundraising initiative, Nashville Ballet completed $5.2 million worth of expansions to the Martin Center.[10] Following the initiative, Nashville Ballet completed $5.2 million worth of expansions to the Martin Center.[10]
  • Created by the male company members and staff, Nashville Ballet launched a tuition free Young Men’s Scholarship Program in 2016.[11]
  • In 2017, the group performed at The
    Kennedy Center,[12]
  • In 2019, Paul Vasterling's debuts Lucy Negro Redux on the Company and is featured in the New York Times.[13]
  • For the first time in the company's history, Nashville Ballet staged and filmed Nashville’s Nutcracker for television. The performance made its televised premiere on NewsChannel 5 WTVF,[14] which received two TELLY Awards and an Emmy Award.[15]

Performances

Nashville Ballet presents five to seven mainstage performances each year.

Nashville
.

Nashville Ballet has performed at The

Denver, Colorado, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Kansas City, Missouri, and Norfolk, Virginia.[16]

The company presents a variety of classical and contemporary works each season.[16] Past repertory includes works by Salvatore Aiello, Jennifer Archibald, George Balanchine, Christopher Bruce, Val Caniparoli, Jiří Kylián, José Limón, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Christopher Stuart, Twyla Tharp, Christopher Wheeldon, and more.[18]

Nashville Ballet collaborates with musicians across all genres for live performances. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Paul Vasterling, Nashville Ballet has commissioned 22 original scores for brand-new ballets.

Shannon Sanders, and Lockeland Strings.[18]

Vasterling’s 2019 Lucy Negro Redux in collaboration with Rhiannon Giddens examined themes of otherness, equality, and self-worth; it was dubbed a “Nashville miracle” by The New York Times.[13]

Education and Community Engagement

School of Nashville Ballet provides dance education for children, youth, and adults for ages 2–70.[19] The school aims to focus on development, inclusivity, and excellence in dance by teaching the fundamental foundation of classical ballet.[8] The Community Engagement Program brings arts education to more than 50,000 individuals each year.[20] The company visits schools, libraries, parks and community centers to introduce new audiences to dance.[21] The Martin Center for Nashville Ballet currently serves as a home for their professional dancers, students, and administrative offices.[22]

Artists

Artistic Director

Nick Mullikin who joined Nashville Ballet in 2015 was officially named Artistic Director, succeeding, Paul Vasterling who is a nationally acclaimed choreographer and former Nashville Ballet Company dancer and has been with the organization since 1988.

Company dancers

There are thirty two full-time professional dancers, recruited through annual auditions. As of October, 2022:

Company Members

  • Brett Sjoblom
  • Colette Tilinski
  • Garritt McCabe
  • Imani Sailers
  • Marissa Stark
  • Mollie Sansone
  • Sarah Pierce
  • Christian Renforth
  • Julia Eisen
  • Nicolas Scheuer
  • Jaison McClendon
  • Noah Miller
  • Kennedy Brown
  • Michael Burfield
  • Jamie Kopit
  • Daniel Rodriguez
  • Lily Saito
  • Owen Thorne
  • Claudia Monja
  • Celeste Borman
  • Jasmine Wheeler
  • Aeron Buchanan
  • James Lankford
  • Emily Ireland-Buczek

Company Apprentices

  • Anneliese Guerin
  • Farin Taft
  • Raquel Smith
  • Joshua O'Connor
  • Autumn Tierney
  • Maia Montgomery
  • Annie Bakland
  • Justin Abel

Music Director

In 2022, Nashville Ballet named frequent guest conductor Ming Luke as Music Director and Principal Conducto

References

  1. ^ a b c "Life behind barres: Dancing into the hearts of Middle Tennessee with the Nashville Ballet". WHNT. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Dance Companies". Tennessee Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Ballet Ball Celebrates 30 Years of Excellence in Dance". Tennessean. Retrieved 20 December 2021.[dead link]
  4. ^ "Weathering Storms". Nashville Scene. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Paul Vasterling". The Center for Ballet and the Arts. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Nashville Ballet History". Nashville Ballet. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Nashville Ballet Presents Salsa Dreams". Hispanic Nashville. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Nashville's Nutcracker Returns, Mixing Young Dancers and Professionals". Tennessean. Retrieved 20 December 2021.[dead link]
  9. ^ "Carmina Burana". Nashville Arts. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  10. ^ a b c "Nashville Ballet Receives Record Setting Gift". Tennessean. Retrieved 20 December 2021.[dead link]
  11. ^ "Nashville Ballet Launches Men's Scholarship Program". Pointe Magazine. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Nashville Ballet Takes Ben Folds Project to Prestigious Kennedy Center". Tennessean. Retrieved 20 December 2021.[dead link]
  13. ^ a b "A Nashville Miracle". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Nashville Ballet to Present Televised Premiere of Nashville's Nutcracker". Tennessean. Retrieved 20 December 2021.[dead link]
  15. ^ "Emmy Award Nominated Nashville's Nutcracker to Return to NewsChannel 5 this Holiday Season". Visit Music City. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  16. ^ a b c "Nashville Ballet Schedule 2021-2022 Season". Tennessean. Retrieved 20 December 2021.[dead link]
  17. ^ "Nashville Ballet, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra Collaboration, Match Made in Amphitheater Heaven". The Chautauquan Daily. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  18. ^ a b "Past Repertory". Nashville Ballet. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  19. ^ "The Most Fun Workout You've Never Tried". StyleBluePrint. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Nashville Ballet". Visit Music City. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  21. ^ "Nashville Ballet Helping Teachers Navigate New Demands of Hybrid Learning". Dance Informa Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Nashville Ballet Studio A". Now Playing Nashville. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nashville_Ballet&oldid=1215260291"