The Corps de Ballet Takes Center Stage in La Bayadère

Principal ballet mistress Louise Lester and the female dancers of the corps de ballet have been very busy lately, preparing for one extremely challenging undertaking: dancing  La Bayadère, which opens next week (February 21) at Wortham Theater Center.

La Bayadère’s third act, the famous Kingdom of the Shades section, showcases 24 female dancers in white tutus, executing 38 synchronized and seamless arabesques while descending onto the stage, and is one of the purest forms of ballet-blanc, or white tutu ballet.

Artists of Houston Ballet; Photo: Amitava Sarkar

“The Kingdom of the Shades is a challenging segment because it requires such control and precision from the corps de ballet women,” says Mr. Welch. “There are few works in the classical repertoire that require more precision from the corps de ballet.”

The Kingdom of the Shades is so popular it is often performed on its own. Houston Ballet first performed The Kingdom of the Shades scene, staged by Ben Stevenson after Marius Petipa, in March 1994 and revived it in 1998.  In 1963, the celebrated English dance critic Clive Barnes famously observed, “If you don’t enjoy La Bayadère, you really don’t enjoy ballet “.

The Kingdom of the Shades_ Martha Butler and Carlos Acosta and Artists of Houston Ballet

Houston Ballet will give 7 performances of La Bayadère February 21 – March 3 at Wortham Theater Center.  Tickets start at $19, and may be purchased at www.houstonballet.org

A Look at Nutcrackers Past: Houston Ballet Celebrates 40 Years of Holiday Magic

During 2012, Houston Ballet celebrates its 40th anniversary of performing The Nutcracker. Very few dancers have appeared in all three of the different stagings of this work that Houston Ballet has performed. Jeanne Doornbos, a former principal dancer, who appeared with Houston Ballet from 1973 to 1988 is one. In this blog entry, Jeanne shares her memories of each of Houston Ballet’s three different productions.

Houston Ballet first performed The Nutcracker in 1972 in a production designed by Peter Farmer.  The snow scene is featured in this image.

Most former dancers, whatever their post-performing path, never completely lose the feeling of “being a dancer,” even if it isn’t always, or even often, uppermost in their minds. I’m no different, and although I danced my last Nutcracker with Houston Ballet in 1987, and retired after 15 years with the company in 1988, I am inevitably transported backstage each holiday season when I first hear the strains of Tchaikovsky’s beautiful Nutcracker music around me, usually as I am walking down a grocery store aisle. Feelings of both panic and joy rise immediately in me, and for a brief moment I worry if my pointe shoes are broken in properly, if my partner is waiting in the wings, if I’ll manage all the pirouettes in the Waltz of the Flowers.  Phew!! I quickly come to my senses and realize that, back here on planet Earth, I don’t have to worry about that anymore. I can just enjoy the music.

The program cover for Houston Ballet’s new production of The Nutcracker, debuting in 1987, featuring a costume sketch of the Nutcracker by Tony Award-winning designer Desmond Heeley.

I felt more than a little geriatric when Andrew Edmonson asked me to reminisce about the three Nutcracker productions that Houston Ballet has presented so far, after determining that I am the only surviving dancer who performed as a professional in all three. He may or may not be right about that, but I know that some Houston Ballet Academy students who started out as children in the original Frederic Franklin Nutcracker went on to perform as adults in the two Ben Stevenson productions, including the current one, first presented in 1987, with beautiful sets and costumes by Desmond Heeley. In fact, when we danced together with Houston Ballet, Lauren Anderson used to occasionally call me “Mom,” to remind me that she had been a party child when I was playing an adult in Act I. So, I admit that I may have a “historic” view.

Frederic Franklin’s Nutcrackerwas being presented for only the second time during my first year with Houston Ballet, in 1973. I’d never been in a Nutcracker before, and was very excited to become part of a holiday tradition. I danced many corps de ballet roles in this version:  parent, snowflake, flower, Spanish dancer, Mirliton. Clara’s family in this version was wealthy, and I remember the women in the Act I party scene wearing elegant décolleté gowns festooned with pearls, feathers in our hair, and lots of jewelry. The men wore velvet tailcoats, and the Dance of the Parents in Act I was quite stately. The uproar caused by the riotous boys (often played by girls dressed in long pants in those days, because of a dearth of boy students in the Houston Ballet Academy) was calmly dealt with by regal parents. In the later Stevenson versions, set in a less formal household, Fritz and his band get pretty wildly out of hand, which is funny and memorable, but surely causes parents of small children in the audience to grind their teeth and shift in their seats. It certainly did me when I began to take my son to see The Nutcracker, though I must admit he loved it, and laughed delightedly as he followed the boys’ exploits.

The snowflake scene in Houston Ballet’s first staging of The Nutcracker (circa 1975), with choreography by Frederic Franklin and designs by Peter Farmer.

The feeling the dancers get from an audience at The Nutcracker is distinctive because of the presence of so many children. Their reactions to the stage action are free and spontaneous, and you can often feel–and hear, if a little one just can’t keep still–the sense of wonder emanating from the audience. It makes the magic of the tree growing, the Battle Scene raging, even just the Sugar Plum rising onto pointe exciting, even for the most jaded backstage denizen, who has seen it all before, perhaps hundreds of times.

Janie Parker and Li Cunxin starred as the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince in Houston Ballet’s 1987 production of The Nutcracker, choreographed by Ben Stevenson and designed by Desmond Heeley. 

The Nutcracker fields a big cast, and several performances, so that opportunities are created for company members to do more important roles than they would normally be given. Dancing up to these challenges often leads to artistic and technical growth throughout the ranks. Nothing concentrates a dancer’s mind, body and soul like having to conquer a difficult series of turns or become a character completely unlike herself. I certainly found that true for myself, as I was given larger roles over the years, and eventually was cast as both the Snow Queen and the Sugar Plum Fairy for several years in Ben Stevenson’s two productions of The Nutcracker. If a dancer does well in Nutcracker roles that have stretched and strengthened her dancing, she won’t be ignored when casting is decided for other ballets, and will be ready for even greater challenges. In this way, The Nutcracker provides a yearly tutorial in pure classical dancing and characterization for all the company members, which has served the artistic growth of the Houston Ballet over the years. It also fosters a sense of continuity and community within the company as dancers observe and learn from each other, and eventually take on roles that they once watched eagerly from the wings.

I postponed my retirement so that I could have the opportunity to dance in Houston Ballet’s first season at the new Wortham Theater. It really was thrilling. I remember making the climb to the highest balcony when we first moved in, and looking down with wonder on the beautiful red proscenium arch, decorated with Texas stars. The dressing rooms were big, the backstage area was huge, the stage floor was springy for ease of jumping, and there was a palpable air of excitement in Houston about the Ballet and Opera moving into a house built especially for them. It gave a solid stamp of approval to those arts that has propelled them forward ever since. The unveiling at the Wortham in December of a new Nutcracker, with Desmond Heeley’s sumptuous–that’s the only word–sets and costumes was the icing on the cake. The previous production had gotten a bit bedraggled after years of service, so it was wonderful to see the elaborate sets for the Party, Snow Scene and Land of the Sweets, and the dancers in their colorful costumes milling around at dress rehearsal. I even had my own mint condition Snow and Sugar Plum tutus!

Dancers: Jeanne Doornbos and Kenneth McCombie; Ballet: Peer Gynt

I have so many memories of The Nutcracker that come to mind each holiday season: Andrea Vodehnal completing a series of fouettés by pulling in for an astounding six final pirouettes in the Sugar Plum coda; a Sugar Plum (not me!) getting her tiara inextricably and horrifyingly entangled in her Cavalier’s tunic during the pas de deux; having to nervously wait during the entire Battle Scene for the Snow Queen’s entrance while remaining concealed in the narrow space behind the Party Scene tree; Ben Stevenson’s ribald humor about the rather suggestive cleft in the giant plum from which the Sugar Plum used to emerge in Act II; the six-pack of Pearl beer that lay on the stage at the back of the Snow Scene one performance, evidence of a stagehand’s hasty retreat as the scene began to change and he was about to be revealed; the ritual dumping of bags of stage snow on the heads of the flittering dancers as the curtain falls on the last Snow Scene performance each year; the darling little children dressed in their holiday best in the Greenroom after performances; and the slips, spills and mistakes that are inevitable over the course of so many performances. I loved every minute of every one.

- Jeanne Doornbos

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Houston Ballet presents The Nutcracker from November 23-30, 2012. A little girl named Clara receives a magical nutcracker on Christmas Eve, and sets out on a wondrous journey to the Land of Snow and the Kingdom of Sweets. Featuring breathtaking scenery and costumes by Tony Award-winning designer Desmond Heeley, The Nutcracker is the perfect yuletide gift: the ideal means of introducing children to the power and beauty of classical dance, and a delightful way for the entire family to ring in the holiday season.

Tickets may be purchased by calling 713-227-2787 or by visiting www.houstonballet.org. Please click here to view, print or download casting.

Dancers: Charles-Louis Yoshiyama and Artists of Houston Ballet; Photo: Amitava Sarkar

A Tribute to Principal Dancer Amy Fote!

Dancer(s): Amy Fote and Artists of Houston Ballet; Photo: Amitava Sarkar 

On Friday, November 30, 2012, Houston Ballet presents its ninth annual Jubilee of Dance: A Tribute to Amy Fote, a special one-night only performance showcasing the talent and artistry of the company dancers in a program of high-energy excerpts from signature works and beloved classics. Principal dancer Amy Fote will be honored at the 2012 Jubilee of Dance. Ms. Fote’s career has taken her from her native Manitowoc, Wisconsin to New Zealand to Houston Ballet, where she joined the company in 2005 as a first soloist and was promoted to principal dancer in 2006. Prior to joining Houston Ballet, she danced with Milwaukee Ballet for fourteen seasons.

“Having this year’s Jubilee of Dance as a tribute to me is a most amazing gift! I feel completely honored and blessed to be recognized in this special way. Jubilee of Dance is a special time for me to say goodbye to the audience and a time to share the stage one last time with my fellow dancers.” - Amy Fote, Principal

We are going to miss you Amy, you are about to start a new and exciting journey…what’s on your mind?

Dancer(s): Amy Fote and Artists of Houston Ballet; Photo: Amitava Sarkar 

“In thinking of my career transition, each day I find myself grateful for the many wonderful opportunities I have had to dance such beautiful ballets with this world class company.  I have grown as a dancer and as an artist over the past 7 years.  I am inspired everyday by the lovely, talented people who surrounded me.  When I look at my career I am completely fulfilled and ready to take that ‘next step’. I look forward to contributing to this art form in other ways and excited to explore my other interests as well.” - Amy Fote, Principal

Dancer(s): Amy Fote as the Sugar Plum Fairy; Photo: Amitava Sarkar 

You can also watch Ballerina Amy Fote make her final appearances as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker!

This years The Nutcracker marks the 25th anniversary of Ben Stevenson’s spectacular production! At select performances Principal dancer Amy Fote will make her final appearances with Houston Ballet as the Sugar Plum Fairy. Here’s what she has to say about dancing the graceful and sweet Sugar Plum Fairy!

“The role of the Sugar Plum Fairy is demanding in many ways. One would think that in performing it year after year it would get easier…it doesn’t.  For starters, it takes a lot of stamina.  Not just the breathing-hard kind of stamina, but also stamina in your left leg.  Also, anytime you wear a tutu you are completely exposed.  Your line needs to be at its most pure and everything pulled up to the nth  degree.   When I was younger I thought this dancing was uptight and didn’t enjoy the restrictive movement.  Now, I feel a great deal of satisfaction performing something so classical, pure and refined.” – Amy Fote, Principal

“Offstage, Fote emanates positive energy, and her Wisconsin accent reveals a Midwestern can-do spirit.”

Molly Glentzer, Houston Chronicle (Nov. 29, 2012)

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Performances of The Nutcracker and Jubilee of Dance will be held in the Brown Theater at Wortham Theater Center in downtown Houston. Tickets may be purchased by calling 713-227-2787 or by visiting www.houstonballet.org.

LI CUNXIN, MAO’S LAST DANCER: FROM PEKING TO ROMEO

Li Cunxin in Glen Tetley’s The Rite of Spring, photo Jim Caldwell

Interview conducted by Andrew Edmonson, Houston Ballet’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations

From 1979 to 1995, Li Cunxin was one of Houston Ballet’s most popular and beloved stars.  Discovered by Houston Ballet Artistic Director Emeritus Ben Stevenson in China in the late 1970s, Li developed into one of the Houston Ballet’s greatest male dancers, creating many leading roles in works by Ben Stevenson, Christopher Bruce, Gillian Lynne, and Ronald Hynd.

The story of Li’s dramatic defection from China was captured in his memoir Mao’s Last Dancer, and was later immortalized in the enormously popular independent film of the same name.  Today, after a detour into finance when he retired from dancing, Li has returned to the world of dance as artistic director of the Queensland Ballet in Australia.

In September 1987, Li Cunxin and Janie Parker lead the company into Wortham Theater Center, creating the title roles in Ben Stevenson’s landmark production of Romeo and Juliet.  In this interview, Li shares his memories of his magical partnership with Parker, the extraordinary response to Romeo and Juliet on opening night, and the ways in which moving into Wortham Theater Center helped to catapult him – and Houston Ballet – to a higher artistic level.

Li Cunxin and Janie Parker; photo by Jack Mitchell

The role of Romeo in Ben Stevenson’s production of Romeo and Juliet held a special place in your career.  Could you tell us briefly about its significance?   

To work with Ben on his creation of Romeo & Juliet and partner with Janie Parker as my Juliet was one of the highlights on my dancing career.

I could sense the pressure from Ben, as this production was going to open Wortham Theater Center. He started to choreograph the balcony pas de deux with Janie and me. He had tremendous creative energy and imagination, to the point that he had choreographed this particular section of pas de deux in one day.  Both Janie and I felt great. We had dinner with Ben that evening and he also seemed very pleased with what he had choreographed that day.

But he completely changed his mind and started to re-choreograph what we did the day after. I have to admit that what he did that first day was no doubt more musical and more beautiful.

Janie and I shared Ben’s excitement beyond description. We were like two children willing to explore and experiment anything to make Ben’s Romeo and Juliet characters alive and real. Janie was a wonderful partner. She has worked with Ben for many years and understood him so well. We had such chemistry, gained great understanding, trust and respect for each other.  At times we could almost finish each other’s sentence.  Working with Janie on Romeo and Juliet was one of most enjoyable moments of my career, and Romeo and Juliet was a pinnacle of our partnership.

Describe the process of working with Ben to create the role of Romeo.  Were there any special tips or pointers that he gave you that stuck with you? 

Ben was amazing and inspirational during the choreographic process. Some key words that provided me with inspiration and helped me to create Romeo: Romantic, passionate love, fresh, and real. Despair of lost love and disappearing hope.

Ben Stevenson coaches Li Cunxin in rehearsal

What are your strongest memories of performing as Romeo when the work premiered during the opening season of Wortham Theater Center in September 1987? 

The opening night of Romeo and Juliet was electric onstage and in the audience. When Juliet finally laid on top of my body and the curtain fell, there was an eerily dead silence. It seemed that time had stopped,  and the entire audience was in grief. And then, suddenly the audience erupted into thunderous applause, and bravos echoed throughout the new theater. When Janie and I stood up and we looked at each other in front of a cheering audience, we knew then that it was one of those special historical moments that we will forever treasure.

At the post performance reception, quite a few people told me that after the final curtain fell, so many people just sat in their seats, weeping, reflecting and savoring what they had just experienced that night.

It was a night to remember by so many in Houston.

What other special memories do you have of dancing Romeo? 

Yes, dancing Romeo in Beijing on Houston Ballet’s historic China tour in 1995, was truly emotional.  There I was, performing in front of my former teachers, classmates and people whom have taught and nurtured me over my 7 years at the Beijing Dance Academy, and in front of a TV audience of over 500 million people in China.

What added to this emotion was that it was my farewell tour with Ben, Janie and other wonderful people of the Houston Ballet-a company that I danced for nearly 16 years.

Li Cunxin in Ben Stevenson’s Peer Gynt

1987 was a milestone year for Houston Ballet, with the opening of Wortham Theater Center.  What was the psychological impact on the dancers of Houston Ballet moving into a state-of-the-art new home?

Even though I felt emotional leaving Jones Hall, I knew that it was an important turning point in Houston Ballet’s growth and maturity to move to Wortham Theater Center. There was an element of new challenge for the dancers to raise our dancing to a higher level.

For me personally, I felt excited and motivated every time when I stepped into the new theater. It certainly has elevated my dancing standard by performing on the stage of Wortham Theater Center.

What impact did the move to Wortham Theater Center have on you, your personal career and your development as an artist? 

I would attribute some of the highlights and most satisfying performing experiences at Wortham Theater Center.  Also I matured quite rapidly as an artist in that great theater environment.

What other memories and milestones do you carry from the first year of the opening of Wortham Theater Center?   

I performed as the Prince in the new staging of The Nutcracker that Ben Stevenson choreographed and Desmond Heeley designed for our first season in Wortham Theater Center in November 1987.  When the curtain rose in the second act of The Nutcracker and the audience drew a deep breath and started to applaud, we knew that Desmond Heeley’s lavish production has already captured Houston’s imagination.  I remember thinking that I better rise to a higher level of dancing to in order to live up to the audience’s  expectations. And I think that both I — and the company as a whole — did that on that opening might of The Nutcracker.

25 Years Later Janie Parker Remembers Romeo and Juliet

Janie Parker as Juliet, photo by Jack Mitchell

From June 7 – 17, Houston Ballet will revive its stunning staging of Romeo and Juliet choreographed by Ben Stevenson to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the opening of Wortham Theater Center.

In September 1987, Houston Ballet inaugurated its spectacular new home at Wortham Theater Center by unveiling a lavish new production of Romeo and Juliet, featuring designs by Englishman David Walker and showcasing two of the company’s most spectacular stars:  prima ballerina Janie Parker and Li Cunxin, whose memoir Mao’s Last Dancer was an international best seller in 2004 and later made into a movie in 2009.

We spoke recently with Janie Parker about her memories of getting to finally dance her dream role of Juliet; her three sensational Romeos; and what a transformative moment it was for Houston Ballet to step center stage at Wortham Theater Center in 1987.

Artists of Houston Ballet in Romeo and Juliet; photo by Drew Donovan

The role of Juliet in Ben Stevenson’s production of Romeo and Juliet held a special place in your career.  Could you tell us briefly about its significance?

As a student, I watched Franco Zeffirelli’s movie of Romeo and Juliet and absolutely fell in love with the Shakespeare masterpiece. During the summers, when I was attending the School of American Ballet in New York, I would buy tickets to see Stuttgart Ballet perform. Their production of Romeo and Juliet with Marcia Haydee, Richard Cragun, and Egon Madsen left me feeling as though my feet were not touching the ground when I left the theater. These were the seeds that caused me to look at the role of Juliet as THE dream role in all of ballet.

Once I began working for Ben Stevenson, and I realized his enormous talent for creating narrative works (especially romantic works), there was nothing I wanted more than to see him choreograph his own Romeo and Juliet. Initially, whenever I mentioned to Ben how much I wished he would do his own production of the ballet, he would point out how many choreographies already existed. He would ask what he could possibly add that hadn’t already been done. But as any dancer who has had the honor of dancing in one of Ben’s romantic ballets will say, there would be no other story more suited to his talents. His passion and sense of drama infuse even abstract ballets!

Then, lo and behold, the unimaginable came about! Not only did Ben finally decide to do his own Romeo and Juliet, but he cast me in the role of Juliet with Li Cunxin as my Romeo! At that point, I knew I had died and gone to heaven.

Janie Parker and Li Cunixin in Romeo and Juliet; photo by Jack Mitchell

Describe the process of working with Ben Stevenson to create the role of Juliet. 

There is no ballet, no role that I have danced, that is more comfortable than dancing Juliet in Ben’s Romeo and Juliet. From start to finish, it’s like wearing the coziest robe and most comfortable slippers, sitting on a veranda watching the most glorious sunrise unfold.

The rehearsal process could not have been easier. The very best of the best were my cast mates, including assistant directors Carmen Mathe and Hiller Huhn as Lord and Lady Capulet, all perfectly directed by Ben. Each person in the ballet seemed to be tailor made for his/her role. That is the genius of Ben in knowing his company.

Dancing Juliet offered the greatest emotional range of anything I danced. There was the youthful playfulness of Juliet and her Nurse. Juliet’s naive acquiescence in the initial scenes with her arranged betrothal to Paris, the innocent awe and rapture in Juliet’s romance with Romeo, Juliet’s rebellious fit with her parents, the turmoil and passion Juliet and Romeo share upon his exile, Juliet’s forlorn determination in taking the Friar’s potion, and the extreme anguish of Juliet finding her true love dead.

In portraying this palette of emotional turns through dance, I felt that I had gone through the best dramatic training one could receive from a master who knew every corner of the heart. Ben knew when to “turn up the volume” and when to “bring it down to a whisper” for maximum emotional impact. The skill that his coaching demonstrates is evident in the fact that, in a story where some would use melodrama, Ben uses the most sparing touch.

Nothing could have been more satisfying. Everything was dramatically easier after having danced the role of Juliet.

What are your strongest memories of performing as Juliet when the work premiered during the opening season of Wortham Theater Center in September 1987?

One of the great things about dancing Romeo and Juliet in the Wortham is the fact that there are stage level dressing rooms fairly close to the stage. I had my hair long during much of the ballet, and I kept a set of hot curlers on during the whole evening. Every time I could slip away and refresh my limp locks with the hot curlers, I would. And there are several costume changes. So having a close dressing room means not having to waste precious energy running back and forth. There was only one costume change that I did in the wings: the costume change into the ballroom costume for the crypt scene at the end of the ballet.

I also liked the breadth of the stage in the Wortham. Li used the size of the stage to great advantage in his sweeping solos and in partnering me during our pas de deux. And the size of the wings is good so that the dancers can make their way easily through all the scenery that is not onstage.

One of the good things about going back and looking at the archival videos is what you get to see that you missed while dancing. When I got a chance to see Li in the crypt scene (when he was toting me around in the deathlike state) I was astounded by the amount of emotion I saw in his face and in his body. I was always cognizant of Li’s great athletic prowess, but there was nothing but pure, raw emotion in those moments of acting. It was an after-the-fact pride in him as my Romeo that I had missed while my eyes were closed playing dead. The advantages of technology!

What other special memories do you have of dancing Juliet?  

The first time I danced Juliet was with Li Cunxin for the world premiere at the opening of the Wortham. The last time I danced with him was in Romeo and Juliet during our tour to China in 1995. It was a sort of farewell for us, since Li was moving on to Australia, and it was very much a bittersweet moment.

When I sat next to the Minister of Culture at a dinner reception after the opening performance, he told me that the performance was televised to 500 Chinese people. So that was very exciting, but at the same time, it represented the closing of a very special chapter in my life.

At the end of my career, after Li, I had two marvelous partners with whom I had the pleasure of dancing Romeo and Juliet. The first, Phillip Broomhead, was like the male version of me. He was fair, romantic, and very flexible! He even had as much hyperextension in his knees as I had, mine being fairly extreme. He was so helpful during my last years of my career, acting as partner, counselor and friend. He was fun to dance with and kept me laughing, besides offering a very tender side of himself as Romeo.
The second was Carlos Acosta. Carlos was an extremely passionate Romeo and a natural partner, picking up Ben’s style of “body partnering” (as I call it) very quickly and easily. Dancing with him was delicious!

1987 was a milestone year for Houston Ballet, with the opening of Wortham Theater Center.  What was the psychological impact on the dancers of Houston Ballet moving into a state-of-the-art new home?   Did it raise the level of performance of the company?

Having the Wortham as our home theater gave us a place to settle in and go about the business of delivering the best performances we could produce. It was truly a home away from home.  Performing is what all the training and rehearsing is for, so having to squeeze into other venues around other performing arts events limited our main reason for being!

A SILVER ANNIVERSARY, AND A GREAT LEAP FORWARD

By Andrew Edmonson, Houston Ballet Director of Marketing & PR

May 2012  marks a very special moment in Houston Ballet’s history:  the 25^th anniversary of the opening of Wortham Theater Center.  Houston Ballet’s first season in Wortham Theater Center was a transformative epoque in the life of the company, and it catapulted both Houston Ballet and Houston Grand Opera to an international level.   Over the next seven months, we will be sharing memories of this singular time in the company’s history with occasional entries on our blog from artists who lived through this dizzying moment.

Wortham Theater Center

Tonight (Thursday, May 10, 2012) the Pink Ribbons Project brings together the city’s leading performing arts organizations to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the opening of Wortham Theater Center as part of Pink at the Brown, a one-night only performance benefitting breast cancer education, research and treatment.

Pink at the Brown is a fitting way to celebrate this milestone in the company’s history.  Twenty-five years ago, a glittering gala celebration unfolded on the stage of the Wortham to inaugurate the new facility.  It was hosted by comedian and operaphile Tony Randall and produced by George Stevens. Houston Ballet Principal Dancers Janie Parker and Li Cunxin danced artistic director Ben Stevenson’s Esmeralda pas de deux, the full ballet company danced the finale from Harald Lander’s Etudes.  Houston Grand Opera presented act two of La bohème.  The U. S. Army Herald Trumpets saluted with fanfares, and a parade of luminaries danced, sang, played, spoke or joked: comedian Art Buchwald, singers Hildegard Behrens and Diahann Carroll, dancers Gloria Rodolfo Dinzel and Tommy Tune, and violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg.

David Glockley and Ben Stevenson at construction site.
Photo by Phyllis Hand

The opening of Wortham Theater Center was a key moment in the civic and cultural life of Houston in the 1980s. Built at the height of the 1980s oil bust, the $66 million facility was constructed entirely with private money, on two blocks of land donated by the City of Houston, and was completed four months ahead of schedule and under budget.  The project was championed by Houston’s first female mayor, Kathryn J. Whitmire,  as a way to position Houston as a cosmopolitan, sophisticated city of the world.  Psychologically, the completion of Wortham Theater Center was a signal moment for a city that had been battered by an economic recession and job losses.

Wortham Theater Center under construction

Having its own theater also allowed Houston Ballet to expand its subscription season performances from one weekend to two weekends, giving the dancers more performance opportunities.  (Prior to 1987, the company had danced in Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, and was limited in the number of performances it could give because of the venue’s exceedingly busy schedule and competition for open dates.)    At the end of the first of Romeo and Juliet performances in September 1987, a Houston Chronicle headline enthused, “Houston Ballet finishes best week of its history.” (September 7, 1987)

The grand opera house stage of Wortham Theater Center also provided Houston Ballet with a new platform on which to stage lavish new full-length productions of both traditional works of the classical repertoire (Ben Stevenson’s The Sleeping Beauty [1990] and Coppélia [1992] and Stanton Welch’s Swan Lake [2006] and La Bayadére [2010]) and to commission a series of new, original full-length works (including Ben Stevenson’s Dracula [1997], The Snow Maiden [1998]; and Cleopatra [2000]; Trey McIntyre’s Peter Pan [2002]; and Stanton Welch’s Tales of Texas [2004] and Marie [2009]).  These pieces have gone on to be performed across the country and around the world.

Moving into Wortham Theater Center also allowed Houston Ballet to greatly expand the number of performances of The Nutcracker that it gave each season, rising from 11 in 1986 to 29 in 1987 to 35 in 2012. The unveiling of Houston Ballet’s magical new production of The Nutcracker in 1987 launched a Texas holiday tradition that continues today. The Nutcracker also plays a key role in Houston Ballet’s financial picture, generating over $3.7 million in revenues (around 19 % of the organization’s annual budget) in 2011.

Mark Your Calendars

We’ve got two great events coming up in Houston Ballet’s season, so save the date!

Academy Spring Showcase: April 29-30

See the rising stars of Houston Ballet’s professional training school as they showcase their talents.  The Spring Showcase is always a great look at future company members “before they were famous”.  The repertoire for this year’s showcase will include Stanton Welch’s Brigade, a pas de deux from Le Corsaire, and a pas de deux from Ben Stevenson’s staging of Don Quixote.

HBII, Houston Ballet’s second company, will also perform Jane Weiner’s Bloom Where You Are Planted, which was created especially for HBII. Ms. Weiner currently serves as executive director of Hope Stone Dance in Houston.

There will be two performances of the Academy Spring Showcase: Friday, April 29 at 7 PM and Saturday, April 30 at 1:30 PM.  Tickets start at $25 and may be purchased by calling 713.227.ARTS.

FREE Performances at Miller Outdoor Theatre: May 6-8 at 8 PM

Houston Ballet will give three free performances on May 6, 7, and 8 at 8 PM at Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park.  The repertoire will include Christopher Bruce’s Hush and Stanton Welch’s Tu Tu and The Core. 

Performances are free and open to the public, but tickets must be picked up from the Miller Theatre Box Office to sit in the covered reserved section of the theatre.  Learn more about how to obtain tickets by visiting our website.  We hope to see you there!

Our life in pictures

Guest writer: Sarah Meals, marketing manager

Dear HB blog followers,

Please accept our humblest apologies for the lack of bloggage lately!  As you’ll see in this update, we’ve had our hands a bit full since the Prix de Lausanne.  Let’s get started…

In case you missed it, we announced our 2010-2011 season in late January.  We’re incredibly excited about the mix of premieres (like Balanchine’s Jewels) and tried-and-true fan favorites (like Ben Stevenson’s The Sleeping Beauty).  The ticketing department is in high gear taking subscription orders, while the marketing/PR department is already discussing the 2011-2012 season photo shoot.  It’s amazing (and stressful) to be working on three seasons at once!

We opened the world premiere of Stanton Welch’s La Bayadère on February 25 to packed houses and rousing applause.  By the end of the run, the dancers, artistic staff, production crew, and costume shop were completely exhausted, but incredibly pleased with the results.

Sara Webb, Connor Walsh, Nicholas Leschke, and Artists of Houston Ballet in La Bayadere. Photo by Amitava Sarkar.

Snake handler Clint Pustejovsky congratulates his pal on a show well done. Photo by Mary Stephens of the Art Institute of Houston North.

On March 10, we held a topping off ceremony for our new Houston Ballet Center for Dance.  Patrons, staff, and dancers watched as the final steel beam was lifted by crane and drilled into place.  You can see some great images on the Houston Chronicle website, and watch a video documentary of the day on our YouTube channel.  Many thanks to all of you who attended and/or sent us well-wishes on Facebook.

Houston Ballet Center for Dance Topping Off Ceremony

Artistic director Stanton Welch leaves his mark on the final beam. Photo by Jim Caldwell.

Dancers Liao Xiang and Michael McGonegal (as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Nutcracker Prince) take in the view from the top of the Center for Dance. Photo by Jim Caldwell.

On March 11, we opened our winter mixed repertory program American at Heart, which included revivals of two fan favorites (Balanchine’s Apollo and Bruce’s Hush) and a Houston Ballet premiere of Robbins’s Fancy Free.  The rep really showed off the company’s versatility:  you can’t get two more different dance vocabularies than Apollo and Hush.

Kelly Myernick and Nicholas Leschke in Hush. Photo by Amitava Sarkar.

Ian Casady and Artists of Houston Ballet in Fancy Free. Photo by Amitava Sarkar.

 Next up is the Academy Spring Showcase, running April 16-17.  Our students are busily preparing their rep, including Stanton Welch’s Studies and Long and Winding Road.  This Friday, resident choreographer and principal dancer at Tulsa Ballet Ma Cong will be in town rehearsing his new ballet Calling, which will be premiered by our HBII students at the Spring Showcase.

Francesca Forcella and Nayon Iovino rehearsing Ma Cong's Calling. Photo by Mitch Walker.

Next week the professional company will take a much-needed break before diving into rehearsals for our final two productions of the season, Pecos and La Fille mal gardée.  All of the ballets are relatively lighthearted and witty, so hopefully fans and artists alike will end the season with a smile.

That’s a wrap for now!  Hope you enjoyed the photos and we look forward to sharing the rest of our spring season with you all.

Photo by Casey Ayala of the Art Institute of Houston North.

Chi Cao of Mao’s Last Dancer Guest Starring as Nutcracker Prince

Beginning this Friday, Chi Cao, a principal dancer with England’s Birmingham Royal Ballet and star of the internationally acclaimed film Mao’s Last Dancer, will perform the role of the prince in The Nutcracker at 7:30 pm on Friday, December 18; 2:00 pm on Sunday, December 20; 2:00 pm on Tuesday, December 22; and 2:00 pm on Wednesday, December 23.

“Chi has incredible classical and virtuoso technique. He has been very well trained by the Beijing Dance Academy, the same school that trained Li Cunxin, and we are excited to have him perform the Prince in The Nutcracker,” commented Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch.

In Mao’s Last Dancer, Cao portrays Houston Ballet’s beloved former dancer Li Cunxin as an adult. Directed by the acclaimed film director Bruce Beresford, the cinematic version of Mao’s Last Dancer debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, was released to great acclaim in Australia in October, and is slated for distribution in the U.S. in 2010.

Read more about Mr. Cao in the Houston Chronicle…

Chi Cao as Li Cunxin in Mao's Last Dancer. Photo by Simon Cardwell.

A Princely Chat with Peter Franc

Demi soloist Peter Franc will debut as the prince in this year’s production of The Nutcracker.  Peter sat down with Houston ArtsWeek’s Nancy Wozny to discuss his new role, what he’s looking forward to in Houston Ballet’s spring season, and his favorite dance partners.  Read more here.