in the spotlight


Texas Ballet Theater Celebrates Ben Stevenson’s 60th Year in Professional Ballet


Artistry at its Finest F


romthe time-honored classics of Swan Lake andGiselle to the progressiveworks of Jiri Kylian and SirKennethMacMillan, Texas


Ballet Theater displays artisticmastery every time it graces the stage.


TexasBallet Theater is committed to bringing beauty toNorth Texas.As the region’s only fully professional classical ballet company— meaning, they employ 43 dancers on a full- time basis for the entirety of their performance season contract—TBT’s mission is to create, present and tourworld-class ballet, fromclassi- cal to cutting-edge, and promote its apprecia- tion, accessibility and technicalmastery among students, pre-professionals and audiences of all ages.


In recognition of its performance excellence, TexasBallet Theater is also the only performing arts organization inNorth Texas to serve as the resident dance company for both theAT&T PerformingArtsCenter’sWinspearOpera House aswell as theBass PerformanceHall.


The organization hasmore than 50 years of evolutionary growth behind it, beginningwith a humble start as a civic ballet in FortWorth in 1961. TheCompany gained national relevance in 2003with the addition ofBen Stevenson, O.B.E., as artistic director.


AMasterWhoTrainsArtists


2015marksMr. Stevenson’s 60th year in pro- fessional ballet.He began his careerwith Sadler’sWellsRoyalBallet andwas a principal dancerwith theEnglishNationalBallet.He came to theUnited States in 1968, choreo- graphed Cinderella for theNationalBallet in Washington,D.C. in 1970 and joined thatCompany one year later as co-directorwith Frederic Franklin.He then served as artistic director forHoustonBallet from1976 to 2003 and is creditedwith developing that organization froma regional troupe of 28 dancers to an internationally-acclaimed ensemble ofmore than 50 artists.


Pictured: Carrie Judson in “SleepingBeauty.”


nication. Stevenson’s dancers become characters that take their audiences onmagnificent journeys.


Since joining TexasBallet Theater, he has added numerousworks to theCompany’s repertoire,many of themhis own choreography of full-length and short pieces,which are recognized throughout the world of classical ballet as having the distinct “Stevenson touch.”


Aprolific choreographer notwithstanding, Stevenson is best known as amasterwho trains artists. Stevenson’s dancers never “just dance.” They create characterswho tell stories,who convey emo- tions andwhomake us laugh or crywith precisewordless commu-


DANCE!NORTHTEXAS a publication of the dance council of north texas


For that reason, Stevenson attracts and retains dancers of the high- est caliber. There aremany dancers across theworldwith exquisite style, impeccable technique and unmatched physical facility, but Stevenson’s dancers are trainedwith the additional skill of dramatic interpretation and comedic timing.


TexasBallet Theater truly is keeping alive the art of classical dance. To celebrate its contribution to the quality of dance training and presentation in this region, TBT is offering a 75%tuition scholarship to their 2016 Summer Intensive through theDanceCouncil of North Texas’ Scholarship Program.Details regarding this scholar- shipwill bemade available in 2016.


vol. 18 • no. 4 www.thedancecouncil.org Nov.-Jan. 2016 page 5


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