Pennsylvania Ballet

The Pennsylvania Ballet
General information
Name	The Pennsylvania Ballet
Year founded	1963
Founders	Barbara Weisberger
Principal venue	Academy of Music Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Merriam Theater, Philadelphia, PA.
Website	www.paballet.org
Artistic staff
Artistic Director	Ángel Corella
Ballet Master	Charles Askegard, Samantha Dunster, Kyra Nichols
Music Director	Beatrice Jona Affron
Other
Orchestra	The Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra
Official school	School of Pennsylvania Ballet
Formation	Principal Dancer Soloist Corps de Ballet

Pennsylvania Ballet is a ballet company in the United States. Headquartered in Philadelphia, the company’s annual local season features six programs of classic favorites and new works, including the Philadelphia holiday tradition, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™. The company’s artistic director is Ángel Corella.

Company history

Pennsylvania Ballet was established in 1963 by Barbara Weisberger,^[1] a protégée of George Balanchine, through a Ford Foundation initiative to develop regional professional dance companies. A Philadelphia cultural institution, the company is noted for its focus on Balanchine repertoire.^[1]

A leader in the regional ballet movement of the 1960s, the company performed in the national spotlight for the first time in 1968 at New York City Center, a debut that led to a decade of national touring, appearances on PBS’s “Dance in America” series, and a stint as the official company of the Brooklyn Academy of Music during the 1970s. In 1982, Pennsylvania Ballet became the first major American ballet company to promote an African-American woman, Debra Austin, to the rank of principal dancer.^[2] From 1987 to 1989, Pennsylvania Ballet forged an alliance with Milwaukee Ballet in an unprecedented venture to create one company. The new organization, with 43 dancers and a greatly expanded repertoire, was the first in the country to offer its dancers year-round employment.

In 1995, the trustees of Pennsylvania Ballet selected its first home-grown artistic director, Roy Kaiser. A former principal, Kaiser had been hired as a company member in 1979 by Barbara Weisberger. Following his retirement from the stage in 1992, Kaiser served as principal ballet master and associate artistic director under Christopher d'Amboise before being named to his current position.

Under Kaiser’s leadership, the company has expanded its Balanchine-based repertoire to include new works from both established and emerging choreographers. New works have included premieres of original ballets from choreographers Merce Cunningham, Christopher d'Amboise, Trey McIntyre, Matthew Neenan, David Parsons, Val Caniparoli, Benjamin Millepied, and Christopher Wheeldon, as well as the highly acclaimed 40th anniversary commission of Swan Lake by Christopher Wheeldon and the 2007 world premiere of Matthew Neenan’s Carmina Burana. Currently employing 37 dancers, Pennsylvania Ballet annually presents a season of six programs (including George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ ) that balance classic ballets with new works that challenge the dancers and attract a diverse audience. The company also tours throughout Pennsylvania and the East Coast to venues such as New York City Center and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It made its international debut at the Edinburgh International Festival in August 2005.

In September 2014, Ángel Corella came on as artistic director.^[1]

Present

Fourteen members of Pennsylvania Ballet appeared as the corps in the 2010 film Black Swan.^[3]^[4] In the 2012–2013 season, the Pennsylvania Ballet performed six productions. These will be performed at the Academy of Music and the Merriam Theater. The company planned to tour to The McCarter Theater in October 2012 and to The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the Ballet Across America program in June 2013. Along with these performances the Pennsylvania Ballet II, the company’s pre-professional program, performed outreach and educational performances.

Dancers

The company dancers of the Pennsylvania Ballet are^[5]

Principals

Amy Aldridge
Ian Hussey

Jermel Johnson
Arian Molina Soca

Alexander Peters

Soloists

Lillian DiPiazza
James Ihde

Oksana Maslova
Mayara Pineiro

Corps de ballet

Ana Calderon
Marria Cosentino
Andrew Daly

Etienne Diaz
Russell Ducker
Holly Lynn Fusco
Alexandra Hughes

Misa Kasamatsu
Harrison Monaco
Elizabeth Wallace
Craig Wasserman

Apprentices

Aaron Anker
Marjorie Feiring
Michael Holden
Kathryn Manger
Jack Sprance
Peter Weil

Pennsylvania Ballet II

Pennsylvania Ballet II was created in 2002 by Joyce and Herbert Kean. This part of the company serves as a pre-professional training company. The dancers in this program practice frequently with the company and are used as dancers in the larger productions. Pennsylvania Ballet II also is involved with many outreach and educational programs.

Outreach programs

Over the past several years, Pennsylvania Ballet has increased its reach through creative programming initiatives such as the Family Matinee Series, the Prologue Lecture Series, and its outreach and education program, Accent on Dance, which serves over 11,000 children each year. Pennsylvania Ballet II does around 25 shows for the surrounding Philadelphia communities. Other outreach programs include tickets given away to participating schools, studio tours, and school shows.

Artistic staff

Artistic Director: Ángel Corella
Assistant Director: Samantha Dunster
Ballet Masters: Charles Askegard, Kyra Nichols
Choreographer in Residence: Matthew Neenan

Roy Kaiser has been said to have had a very influential effect on this company. He also participated in other programs such as the New York Choreographic Institute.^[6]

Matthew Neenan is Pennsylvania Ballet’s first choreographer in residence. He danced for the company from 1994–2007.

References

1 2 3 MacAulay, Alastair (27 October 2014). "New Director on Board, a Troupe Sets Sail: Ángel Corella's Opens Debut Season at Pennsylvania Ballet". New York Times. New York, United States. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
↑ Quillin, Martha (13 July 2016). "Pioneering dancer proves her point(e)". News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
↑ Wloszczyna, Susan (July 22, 2010). "'Black Swan' stars step deftly into roles". USA Today. Life – Movies. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
↑ Jenet, Nicole (December 21, 2010). "Pennsylvania Ballet dancer from Abington in 'Black Swan'". Montgomery News. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
↑ "Dancers". Pennsylvania Ballet. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
↑ Whittington, Lewis (February 2004). "Artistic Director Roy Kaiser Discusses Pennsylvania Ballet's New Era". Ballet-Dance Magazine. Retrieved September 30, 2011.

External links

Official website

Ballet companies

Africa	Cairo Opera Ballet Company Cape Town City Ballet

Asia	Ballet Manila Ballet Philippines Guangzhou Ballet Hong Kong Ballet Iranian National Ballet Company Israel Ballet K-ballet Korea National Ballet National Ballet of China Philippine Ballet Theatre Shanghai Ballet Company Singapore Dance Theatre State Ballet of Georgia Tokyo Ballet Universal Ballet

Europe	Ballet Cymru Les Ballets Persans Ballet Romand Ballet Zürich Barcelona Ballet Bayerisches Staatsballett Béjart Ballet Berlin State Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Cork City Ballet Royal Danish Ballet Donetsk Ballet Dutch National Ballet Eifman Ballet English National Ballet Finnish National Ballet Sukhishvili Georgian National Ballet Greek National Opera Hamburg Ballet Hungarian National Ballet Kiev Ballet La Scala Theatre Ballet Mariinsky Ballet Mikhailovsky Theatre Ballet National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Moldova The Monte-Carlo Ballet National Opera and Ballet of Bulgaria Northern Ballet Norwegian National Opera and Ballet Novosibirsk Theatre Ballet Original Ballet Russe Paris Opera Ballet Perm Theatre Ballet Polish National Ballet National Ballet of Portugal The Royal Ballet Rambert Dance Company Russian State Ballet of Siberia Saint Petersburg Ballet Theatre Scottish Ballet Spanish National Dance Company Stanislavski Ballet Stuttgart Ballet Royal Swedish Ballet Théâtre du Silence Turkish State Opera and Ballet

North America	Alabama Ballet Alameda Civic Ballet Alberta Ballet Company Alexandra Ballet Alonzo King LINES Ballet American Ballet Theatre American Repertory Ballet Anaheim Ballet Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Atlanta Ballet Atlanta Festival Ballet Ballet Arizona Ballet Austin Ballet BC Ballet Des Moines Ballet Fantastique Ballet Hispanico Ballet Magnificat! Ballet Memphis BalletMet Ballet Minnesota Ballet Nebraska Ballet Nouveau Colorado Ballet Quad Cities Ballet San Jose Ballet Theatre of Maryland Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo Ballet West Bay Pointe Ballet Boston Ballet Les Grands Ballets Canadiens California Riverside Ballet Carolina Ballet Charlotte Ballet Chicago Ballet Chicago Festival Ballet Cincinnati Ballet Cleveland Ballet Colorado Ballet Complexions Contemporary Ballet Cuban National Ballet Dance Theatre of Harlem Dayton Ballet Eugene Ballet Greensboro Ballet Houston Ballet Joffrey Ballet Kansas City Ballet Los Angeles Ballet Louisville Ballet Moscow Ballet (United States) National Ballet of Canada National Ballet Theater of Puerto Rico New Jersey Ballet New York City Ballet Oklahoma City Ballet Oregon Ballet Theatre Pacific Northwest Ballet Pennsylvania Ballet Pittsburgh Ballet Royal Winnipeg Ballet San Francisco Ballet Tulsa Ballet

Oceania	The Australian Ballet Queensland Ballet Royal New Zealand Ballet West Australian Ballet

South America	Ballet Municipal de Lima Chilean National Ballet Colon Theater Ballet Teatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro

Dance companies in the United States

Ballet	Alabama Ballet Alameda Civic Ballet Alexandra Ballet Alonzo King LINES Ballet American Ballet Theatre American Repertory Ballet Anaheim Ballet Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Atlanta Ballet Atlanta Festival Ballet Ballet Arizona Ballet Austin Ballet Des Moines Ballet Fantastique Ballet Magnificat! Ballet Memphis BalletMet Ballet Minnesota Ballet Nebraska Ballet Nouveau Colorado Ballet Quad Cities Ballet San Jose Ballet Theatre of Maryland Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo Ballet West Bay Area Houston Ballet and Theatre Bay Pointe Ballet Boston Ballet California Riverside Ballet Carolina Ballet Cedar Lake Charlotte Ballet Chicago Ballet Chicago Festival Ballet Cincinnati Ballet Cleveland Ballet Colorado Ballet Complexions Concert Ballet of Virginia Dance Theatre of Harlem Dayton Ballet Eugene Ballet Folsom Lake Civic Ballet Greensboro Ballet Gwinnett Ballet Theatre Houston Ballet James Sewell Ballet Joffrey Ballet Kansas City Ballet Los Angeles Ballet Louisville Ballet Miami City Ballet Morphoses Mystic Ballet National Ballet Theater of Puerto Rico New Jersey Ballet New York City Ballet Oklahoma City Ballet Oregon Ballet Theatre Pacific Northwest Ballet Pennsylvania Ballet Pittsburgh Ballet San Francisco Ballet Suzanne Farrell Ballet Texas Ballet Theater Tulsa Ballet The Washington Ballet

Contemporary	Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater AXIS Dance Company Ballet Deviare Ballet Hispanico Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company Dayton Contemporary Dance Company Dominic Walsh Hubbard Street Lar Lubovitch Martha Graham Momix Paul Taylor The Philadelphia Dance Company Pilobolus Ririe-Woodbury sjDANCEco Urban Bush Women Whim W'Him

Other	Ice Theatre of New York The LXD The Rockettes

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