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Carolina Ballet is one of America's arts organizations, programming traditional ballets and new works by contemporary choreographers. The Ballet was launched as a professional company in 1998 under the direction of Founding Artistic Director Robert Weiss. In 2019, Zalman Raffael became the Artistic Director/CEO joined by Michele Weathers as executive director. For more than 20 years, Carolina Ballet has garnered critical praise from the national and international media, staged over 100 world premiere ballets, and in 2018, chartered the School of Carolina Ballet. Since its inaugural season in 1998, Carolina Ballet and this community have accomplished something remarkable. The company has grown from a budget of $1.2 million featuring sixteen dancers and five apprentices in three programs to a $6.0 million budget featuring 38 dancers in eight programs including the holiday tradition, ''The Nutcracker''.
Carolina Ballet, Inc. was founded in 1984 as Raleigh Dance Theatre, Inc. by Ann Vorus, owner of the Raleigh Dance Theatre.
As a student company, its purpose was to provide performance opportunities for students of the school. Over several years, both the school and the company grew in reputation and stature in its metamorphosis as Carolina Ballet Theatre, a pre-professional regional company under Ms. Vorus and her successor as artistic director, Mary LeGere. Performances of the company began to attract favorable notice from area dance critics. In the fall of 1993, Raleigh lawyer Ward Purrington suggested to Ms. Vorus and the Raleigh Dance Theatre board that the company aspire to professional status. Market research suggested a professional dance presence in the Triangle region was not only needed but desired as well.
Robert Weiss, a former principal dancer with New York City Ballet and past artistic director of Pennsylvania Ballet, was selected in April 1997 as the founding artistic director of the new professional company, known as Carolina Ballet, Inc.
History
Carolina Ballet, Inc. was founded in 1984 as Raleigh Dance Theatre, Inc. by Ann Vorus, owner of the Raleigh Dance Theatre.
As a student company, its purpose was to provide performance opportunities for students of the school. Over several years, both the school and the company grew in reputation and stature in its metamorphosis as Carolina Ballet Theatre, a pre-professional regional company under Ms. Vorus and her successor as artistic director, Mary LeGere. Performances of the company began to attract favorable notice from area dance critics. In the fall of 1993, Raleigh lawyer Ward Purrington suggested to Ms. Vorus and the Raleigh Dance Theatre board that the company aspire to professional status. Market research suggested a professional dance presence in the Triangle region was not only needed but desired as well.
Robert Weiss, a former principal dancer with New York City Ballet and past artistic director of Pennsylvania Ballet, was selected in April 1997 as the founding artistic director of the new professional company, known as Carolina Ballet, Inc.
Notable productions
* Handel's ''Messiah'', choreography by Robert Weiss, premiering in 1998 * Beethoven, Janáček, J. Mark Scearce '' The Kreutzer Sonata'', based on the Tolstoy novella, 2000 * Carl Orff, ''Carmina Burana
''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreveren ...
'', choreography by Lynne Taylor-Corbett, first performed in 2001
* Poulenc, Debussy, Chausson ''Monet Impressions'', 2006
* Paul Moravec, ''Tempest Fantasy'', based on William Shakespeare's The Tempest
''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...
, 2007
* Robert Weiss, "Cinderella," music by Karl Moraski
Dancers
Dancers of the Carolina Ballet, as of July 2021:Principals
*Margaret Severin-Hansen
Margaret Severin-Hansen is an American ballerina. Since 2002, she has been a principal dancer with the Carolina Ballet. She also serves as the co-chairman of the School of Carolina Ballet, as the Director of the Ruth S. Shur Summer Intensive Progr ...
Soloists
*Sam Ainley *Taylor Ayotte *Kathleen Black *Luke Potgieter *Sokvannara Sar *McKenzie Van Oss *Lauren WolframCorps de Ballet
*Elye Bailey *Ashton Bradley *Robert Champ *Saskia de Muinck Keizer *Andrew Denise *Laurel Dorn *Heather Duncan *Emily Fretz *Jonas Godwin *Pierson Hall *Zoe Harrel *Maggie-Kate Howard *Anthony Hoyos *Anna Ingold *Jilian Kossak *Bryce Leippe *Juliet Marinello *Ling Minucci *Sofia Rose Peetoom *Russell Schmidt *Alexa Testa *Ella VolpeFormer dancers
* SarahAnne PerelReferences