History of Ballet West
Ballet West was established in Salt Lake City in 1963. Willam F. Christensen was the company's first artistic director, co-founding the company together with Utah's “First Lady of the Arts” Glenn Walker Wallace. In 1951, Christensen had established the first ballet department in an American university at The University of Utah and with the tireless assistance of Mrs. Enid Cosgriff this program grew into the Utah Civic Ballet, Ballet West's first incarnation. But this was not the first ballet company Willam Christensen's founded. Along with his brothers Lew and Harold, Christensen made history by establishing the oldest ballet company in the western United States, the San Francisco Ballet. There he went on to create the first full-length American productions of Coppélia, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker, which remains in Ballet West's repertoire to this day. A 20th Century ballet pioneer, Christensen developed a distinctly American and theatrical repertoire for his company based on his early training in Utah and New York City as well as his years traversing the American Vaudeville circuit. He also built a strong connection to the works of George Balanchine. In 1975 Christensen invited the great American dancer Bruce Marks to join him as Ballet West's Co-Artistic Director. Marks became Artistic Director in 1978 when Christensen retired. Under Marks’ direction, the company presented its first full production of Swan Lake and it earned a reputation for developing emerging choreographers of the time. Also during this period Marks made history, along with his wife, the acclaimed Danish Ballerina, Toni Lander, by presenting the first American full-length production of Abdallah by renowned 19th Century Danish choreographer, August Bournonville. John Hart, CBE, former dancer, administrator, and Assistant Director of The Royal Ballet in England succeeded Marks as Artistic Director of Ballet West In 1985. Under his leadership, the company's repertoire was expanded to include more well-loved 19th Century classics such as The Sleeping Beauty. Hart further enriched the company's repertoire of ballets with the works of many early 20th Century masters, most notably the great English choreographer, Sir Frederick Ashton. From 1985 to 1996, Hart engaged San Francisco-based Val Caniparoli as Ballet West's resident choreographer. Dancer and choreographer Jonas Kåge served as Artistic Director from 1997 to 2006. During this time Kåge maintained Ballet West's repertoire of classics while revitalizing its profile with notable late 20th Century choreographers such as Christopher Bruce, Hans van Manen, Glen Tetley and William Forsythe.Artistic directors
The founding artistic director, Willam Christensen, retired in 1978. He was succeeded by Bruce Marks, who had been co-artistic director since 1975. Starting in 1985, the company's third artistic director was John Hart, CBE, a former dancer, administrator, and assistant director ofDance company
Dancers with Ballet West as of June 2023 include:Principal Dancers
First Soloists
Soloists
Demi-soloists
Corps de Ballet
* Jazz Khai Bynum * Lillian Casscells * Beau Chesivoir * Isabella Corridon * Amelia Dencker * Nicole Fanney * Robert Fowler * Connor Hammond * Jacob Hancock * Noel Jensen * Vinicius Lima * Joseph Lynch * Amber Miller * Rylee Ann Rogers * Anisa Sinteral * Tatiana Stevenson * Victoria Vassos * Loren Walton * Claire WilsonBallet West II, Second Company Artists
* Stella Birkinshaw * Micheal Bushman * Kye Cooley * Anderson Duhan * Maren Florence * Luca Freudenberg * Victor Galeana * Elijah Hartley * Schuyler Lian * William Lynch * Jonas Malinka-Thompson * Lexi McCloud * Julia Outmesguine * Kennedy Sheriff * Rebecca Trockel * Kaeli WareNotable Dancers
References
External links
* * {{authority control West Ballet 1963 establishments in Utah Performing groups established in 1963 Dance in Utah Non-profit organizations based in Utah