Richmond Ballet is an American

ballet company A ballet company is a type of dance troupe that performs classical ballet, neoclassical ballet, and/or contemporary ballet in the European tradition, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-rou ...

and

501(c)(3) organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

, located in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. It was named the State Ballet of Virginia in 1990 by then Governor

Douglas Wilder Lawrence Douglas Wilder (born January 17, 1931) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 66th governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994. He was the first African American to serve as governor of a U.S. state since the Reconstruction ...

Founding

In 1957, the Ballet Impromptu, founded by Robert C. Watkins Jr., Marjorie Fay Underhill, and Donna Comstock Forrest, became Richmond's first ballet company. Later, the Ballet Impromptu became the Richmond Ballet. Richmond Ballet existed for more than twenty years as a small, civic company until 1975, when School of Richmond Ballet was created. In 1980, Stoner Winslett became the founding artistic director Richmond Ballet and developed a professional company of dancers. In 1984, Richmond Ballet became the first professional ballet company in Virginia and was designated the State Ballet of Virginia in 1990, by then Governor Wilder. Richmond Ballet's educational outreach program, ''Minds In Motion'', was founded in 1993. It features a movement curriculum that is taught to 4th-graders across Richmond. In 2000, Richmond Ballet moved into a renovated facility in downtown Richmond."Our History"
Richmond Ballet, The State Ballet of Virginia.

Performances

In a 2011 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' article on American productions of

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

's ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

'', dance critic

Alastair Macaulay Alastair Macaulay is an English writer and dance critic. He was the chief dance critic for ''The New York Times'' from 2007 until he retired in 2018. He was previously chief dance critic at ''The Times'' and Literary Supplement and chief theater cr ...

singled out the Richmond Ballet production as one of the best in the country. The company debuted in New York City in 2005 with performances at the

Joyce Theater The Joyce Theatre Foundation is a leading presenter of dance in New York City and nationally. It is runs, in part, from the Joyce Theater, a 472-seat dance performance venue located in the Chelsea, Manhattan, Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in ...

. In October 2013, during the company's 30th season, the Ballet premiered the contemporary work "Phoenix Rising", choreographed by

Philip Neal Philip H. Neal (born in Richmond, Virginia) was a principal dancer with New York City Ballet. Career He studied from age 11 at the Richmond Ballet School. After studying there, Edward Villella arranged a summer scholarship for him at NCYB's School ...

, a former student of School of Richmond Ballet and dancer for 23 years with

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...

. Richmond Ballet returned to The Joyce Theater in April 2007 as part of a tribute to American master choreographer John Butler, and again in 2010. In 2012, Richmond Ballet made its international debut when they traveled to London where they performed in the Linbury Theatre at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

. In 2015, Richmond Ballet embarked on a tour of China. While in China, they performed at the "Meet in Beijing" Arts Festival at the

National Centre for the Performing Arts National Centre for the Performing Arts may refer to * National Centre for the Performing Arts (China) The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) (), colloquially described as The Giant Egg (巨蛋), is an arts centre containing an opera ...

. They also performed in the cities of

Jinan Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of ...

Dezhou Dezhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Liaocheng to the southwest, Binzhou to the northeast, and the province of Hebei ...

, and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. The Ballet toured to

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (originally known as the Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts and simply known as Wolf Trap) is a performing arts center located on of national park land in unincorporated Fairfax County, ...

in August 2023. In a typical season, Richmond Ballet presents repertory productions and story ballets, including Stoner Winslett's ''The Nutcracker'' to Richmond audiences. They currently perform their Studio Series productions at their Studio Theatre in downtown Richmond and their mainstage productions at Dominion Energy Center.

Commissioned works

Richmond Ballet has commissioned many ballets from choreographers, including: * ''...as an old shirt'', Todd Rosenlieb (2008) * ''Always, at the Edge of Never'', Colin Connor (2010) * ''Ancient Airs & Dances'', Stoner Winslett (1986) * ''Astormix'',

(2001) * ''Attention, Please'',

Val Caniparoli Val Caniparoli is an American ballet dancer and international choreographer. His work includes more than 100 productions for ballet, opera, and theater for over 50 companies, and his career as a choreographer progressed globally even as he continu ...

(1999) * ''At the Edge of Thira'', Chris Burnside (1997) * ''Avalon'', Stoner Winslett (1995) * ''Between the Lines'', Alan Hineline (2004) * ''Bouncing Light'',

Vladimir Angelov Vladimir Angelov (born May 3, 1966) is a Bulgarian–American choreographer, author, and the executive director of Dance ICONS, Inc. He lives in Washington, D.C. Early life and career Vladimir Angelov graduated from the National Choreographi ...

(2002) * ''Bow Out'', Val Caniparoli (1995) * ''Chasing Cello'', William Soleau (2013) * ''Cinderella'', Malcolm Burn (2000) * ''City Life'', Mark Annear (2016) * ''Closing Doors'', William Soleau (2002) * ''Complete Trust'', Malcolm Burn (1997) * ''Dark Hugs Me Hard'', Susan Shields (2006) * ''Djangology'', Val Caniparoli (1997) * ''Echoing Past (Das alte Jahr)'', Stoner Winslett (1996) * ''Ershter Vals'',

Ma Cong Tulsa Ballet is a professional American ballet company located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The artistic mission of Tulsa Ballet is "To preserve the tradition of classical ballet, promote the appreciation of contemporary dance, create works of superior and ...

(2009/10) * ''Estampie'',

Miriam Mahdaviani Miriam Mahdaviani is a choreographer, a former New York City Ballet dancer and a '' repetiteur'' for the George Balanchine Trust. She has created ballets for NYCB's 1988 American Music Festival and its Diamond Project in 1992, 1994,1997, 2000 and 2 ...

(1995) * ''Faces'', Malcolm Burn (2003) * ''Gargoyles'', Philip Neal (2012) * ''The Howling Cat (Imaginary Tango)'',

Kirk Peterson American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spri ...

(2001) * ''Hymn'', William Soleau (1990) * ''Inconsequentials'',

Agnes de Mille Agnes George de Mille (September 18, 1905 – October 7, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. Early years Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMill ...

(1981) * ''Into The Air'', Colin Connor (2005) * ''iNVERSION'', Darrell Moultrie (2014) * ''La Belle Danse'', Jessica Lang (2007) * ''Lift The Fallen'', Ma Cong (2014) * ''Lines Squared'', Jessica Lang (2009) * ''Luminitza'', Ma Cong (2012) * ''A Maiden's Hymn'', Jessica Lang (2003) * ''Mephisto Walz'', Philip Neal (2002) * ''Misa Criolla'', William Soleau (2008) * ''Now and Then'', Mauricio Wainrot (1999) * ''Nuevo Tango'', William Soleau (1998) * ''The Nutcracker'', Stoner Winslett (1984) * ''Octavo'', Gina Patterson (2011) * ''Orchestra'', Stoner Winslett (1985) * ''Other Places'', Stoner Winslett (1990) * ''Phoenix Rising'', Philip Neal (2013) * ''Realms of Amber'', Edgar Zendejas (2016) * ''Setting Sun'', Chris Burnside (1994) * ''Silence'', Gina Patterson (2008/09) * ''Solace'', Philip Neal (2002) * ''Sojourn'', Stoner Winslett (1988) * ''Stolen Moments'', Val Caniparoli (2015) * ''Streets & Legends'', Colin Connor (1997) * ''String Sketches'', William Soleau (1996) * ''Surfside'', Michael John Lowe (2002) * ''Swipe'', Val Caniparoli (2011) * ''Tandem Spaces'', William Soleau (1994) * ''Terra'', Colin Connor (1996) * ''To Familiar Spaces in Dream'', Jessica Lang (2005) * ''A Tribute (To Marcel Marceau & Bip)'', Malcolm Burn (2008/11) * ''Triumph of Spring'', Stoner Winslett (1988) * ''Vestiges'', Colin Conor (2000) * ''Ciolin'', Val Caniparoli (2006) * ''Vortex'', Kirk Peterson (1999) * ''Voyages'', Mauricio Wainrot (2008) New Work Festival Pieces * ''All Something and Light'', Julie Job-Smithson (2009) * ''Chance Favors the Prepared Mind'', Todd Rosenlieb (2008) * ''Diversions'', James Frazier (2009) * ''Dominant Curves'', Sasha Janes (2013) * ''The Edge Of Place'', Amy Seiwert (2013) * ''Eos Chasma'',

Melissa Barak Melissa Barak (born August 9, 1979, in Los AngelesState of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905–1995'' (Sacramento, CA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics).) is a choreographer and ballerina. ...

(2014) * ''Exulto'', Peter Quanz (2014) * ''From My Life'', Nicole Haskins (2015) * ''Inventory'', Matthew Frain (2015) * ''Lenton Rose'', Rex Wheeler (2015) * ''Morning Overtures'', Patti D’Beck & David Leong (2008) * ''Ninfee'',

Jacqulyn Buglisi Jacqulyn Buglisi is an American choreographer, artistic director, dancer, and educator. In 1993 she co-founded the Buglisi Dance Theatre, with Terese Capucilli, Christine Dakin and Donlin Foreman. Choreography Buglisi choreographs works pri ...

(2009) * ''Polaris'',

Katarzyna Skarpetowska Katarzyna Skarpetowska (born ca. 1977) is a dancer and choreographer of Polish descent. She danced with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company from 2007 - 2014, and Parsons Dance Company. from 1999-2006. Her choreography, often set on the Parsons company, ...

(2015) * ''Reiffe'', Edgar Zendejas (2014) * ''Saideira'', Darrell Moultrie (2013) * ''Shadows On The Inside'', Gavin Stewart (2014) * ''Touched'', Viktor Plotnikov (2008) * ''Vanish'', Starrene Foster (2013) * ''Y Por Ti'', Eloy Barragan (2008)

School of Richmond Ballet

The School of Richmond Ballet was founded in 1975. They train students aged four years old and above in ballet, with supplemental education in

character dance Character dance is a specific subdivision of classical dance. It is the stylized representation of a traditional folk or national dance, mostly from European countries, and uses movements and music which have been adapted for the theater. Char ...

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, concert or theatrical dance which includes dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th ...

, and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

dance."Welcome to The School of Richmond Ballet"
richmondballet.com.

References

{{Authority control Ballet companies in the United States Dance in Virginia Non-profit organizations based in Richmond, Virginia