Houston Ballet facts for kids

The Houston Ballet is a professional dance company. It is based in Houston, Texas. The company has 59 dancers. They put on over 85 shows each year. It is the fifth largest ballet company in the United States.

History of Houston Ballet

For 11 years, starting in the 1930s, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo performed in Houston. They visited during the Christmas season. This made people in Houston want their own dance company.

The Houston Ballet started with the Houston Ballet Academy. This dance school opened in 1955. Tatiana Semenova, a former dancer, led the academy. In 1969, a professional ballet company was formed. Nina Popova, also a former dancer, became its first director.

Leaders of the Ballet Company

Artistic Directors and Choreographers

From 1976 to 2003, Ben Stevenson was the artistic director. He was a dancer from Britain. Under his leadership, the Houston Ballet became famous worldwide.

In 1989, Kenneth MacMillan joined the company. He was an artistic associate until 1992. Christopher Bruce became the resident choreographer. He has created nine dance pieces for the company. Four of these were made just for Houston Ballet.

In 1995, Trey McIntyre became a choreographic associate. He created seven new ballets for the company. This included his first full-length show, Peter Pan. In 2003, Stanton Welch became the artistic director. He is from Australia. He has created many ballets for the company.

For the company's 40th season in 2010, Stanton Welch created a new version of La Bayadère. In 2011, the company won the Rudolf Nureyev Prize. This allowed them to buy a new dance piece by Jorma Elo.

In July 2023, Julie Kent joined Stanton Welch. She became a co-artistic director.

Executive Leadership

In 2012, James Nelson became the executive director. He was previously the general manager.

Dancers of Note

In 1982, Sandra Organ joined the Houston Ballet. She was 19 years old. She became the first African American ballerina in the company. She was later promoted to soloist. She danced with the Houston Ballet for 15 years.

In 1990, Lauren Anderson made history. She became the Houston Ballet's first African-American principal dancer. She continued to dance with the company until 2006. She retired at age 41.

In July 1995, the Houston Ballet made history again. They were the first American ballet company invited to tour China. About 500 million people watched their show. Their opening night performance of Romeo and Juliet was shown live on Chinese television.

Houston Ballet Orchestra

The Houston Ballet first performed with a live orchestra in 1972. They performed The Nutcracker with the Houston Symphony.

In 1983, Glenn Langdon became the music director. He made sure all orchestra members were auditioned. He also made the string section larger. Langdon left in 1989. After him, several guest conductors led the orchestra. These included John Lanchbery and Jack Everly.

Ermanno Florio became music director in 1992. He had been a guest conductor before. The Houston Ballet Orchestra has 61 part-time musicians. There are also eight full-time pianists. They play for classes and rehearsals.

Houston Ballet Center for Dance

The Houston Ballet Center for Dance, where the company works and practices.

The Houston Ballet Center for Dance is a very large building. It has 115,000 square feet. It has six floors and nine studios. It is the biggest building in the United States made for a professional dance company.

The first floor has the Margaret Alkek Williams Dance Lab. This space is used for shows and rehearsals. The building also has offices and a costume shop. There is a shoe room and a music library. The Houston Ballet Academy Studios are also there.

Construction on the building started in July 2009. On March 10, 2010, a party was held. Dancers and staff signed the last construction beam. The new building cost $46.6 million. Staff moved in during February 2011. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was on April 9, 2011. Then-Mayor Annise Parker led the event.

Dealing with Hurricane Harvey

On August 26, 2017, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston. Both the Center for Dance and the Wortham Theater Center were flooded. This left the company without rehearsal or performance space. The 2017–18 season was about to begin.

However, the Houston premiere of Kenneth MacMillan's Mayerling still happened. It took place at the nearby Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.

The Wortham Theater Center was badly damaged. It had 12 feet of water inside. It stayed closed for the rest of the season. About 60 percent of the ballet costumes were destroyed. This was from around 50 ballets. Houston Ballet's executive director, Jim Nelson, said the hurricane would cost the company about $12 million over three years.

To save the 2017–18 season, Houston Ballet started its Hometown Tour. They performed their planned shows at other places. These included The Hobby Center for Performing Arts and the Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land. They also used the George R. Brown Convention Center and Jones Hall.

Houston Ballet on Film

In 2009, a film was made about Li Cunxin. He was a principal dancer with Houston Ballet. The film was called Mao's Last Dancer. Bruce Beresford directed it. It premiered on September 13, 2009. This was at the Toronto International Film Festival. It won an AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score.

A documentary dance film called Sons de L'âme was also made. Stanton Welch choreographed it. It featured 16 Houston Ballet dancers. It premiered in Paris in October 2013. It first showed in the US on November 16, 2014. This was at the 2014 Houston Cinema Arts Festival. The music for the film is by Frédéric Chopin. Lang Lang performs the piano pieces.

Nutcracker Market

The Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market started in 1981. Preston John Frazier Jr. had the idea. It was meant to be like a European market. It helps raise money for dance scholarships. Now, it is a four-day event held every November.

See also

In Spanish: Ballet de Houston para niños