Ballet Tucson
| Ballet Tucson | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Name | Ballet Tucson |
| Year founded | 1986 |
| Founder | Mary Beth Cabana |
| Website | ballettucson |
| Artistic staff | |
| Artistic Director | Margaret Mullin |
| Other | |
| Official school | School of Ballet Tucson |
Ballet Tucson is a professional ballet company based in Tucson, Arizona.[1]
As of June 2023, the company has 4 principal dancers, 5 soloists, 4 demi-soloists, and 8 members of the corps de ballet. They also have 9 apprentices.[2]
History
Ballet Tucson, previously known as Ballet Arts Foundation, was established in 1986 by Mary Beth Cabana, who was previously a principal dancer with Cleveland Ballet, Ballet Oklahoma, Arizona Dance Theatre, and San Diego Ballet.[3][4] The goal of creating Ballet Tucson was to create a world-class professional ballet company as well as a ballet school that would help young dancers in Southern Arizona pursue a career in dance.
In 1987, the Children's Ensemble gave a preview performance at Centennial Hall (Tucson, Arizona) in Tucson, and received positive reviews. Additional performances that year also received positive reviews.
In 1994, Ballet Tucson premiered their own full-length version of The Nutcracker, which had five sold-out performances.
In 2004, the professional ballet company debuted, and since that time has established itself as Tucson's resident professional ballet company.[5]
In 2022, Ballet Tucson began a partnership with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra for their performances of The Nutcracker.[6][7]
Current company
Artistic team & staff
Margaret Mullin joined as the Artistic Director in spring 2022.[8] She was previously a soloist with Pacific Northwest Ballet.[9][10][11]
Chieko Imada is the Associate Artistic Director & Resident Choreographer. She was previously a soloist with Inoue Ballet of Tokyo, and a former principal dancer for Ballet Tucson.[12]
School of Ballet Tucson
The School of Ballet Tucson is the official school of Ballet Tucson. It has provided training to students since 1986.[13]
References
- ^ "Mission & History : Ballet Tucson".
- ^ "Dancers : Ballet Tucson".
- ^ Kitteredge, Callie (12 November 2015). "Ballet Tucson: 30 and growing still". Arizona Daily Star.
- ^ "Founding Artistic Director : Ballet Tucson".
- ^ https://playbill.com/article/ballet-tucson-opens-first-full-professional-season
- ^ "Mission & History : Ballet Tucson".
- ^ "Ballet Tucson partners with Tucson Symphony Orchestra for the Nutcracker". 12 December 2022.
- ^ Suddarth, Emma (7 August 2024), "Margret Mullin Seeks to Raise Ballet Tucson's Profile With Fresh Repertoire", Pointe, retrieved 2 January 2026
- ^ "Artistic Team & Staff : Ballet Tucson".
- ^ "Ballet Tucson approaches its latest season with a new vision". 30 September 2022.
- ^ "3 in Seattle honored with Princess Grace Awards". The Seattle Times. Seattle Times Staff. 19 August 2011.
- ^ "Artistic Team & Staff : Ballet Tucson".
- ^ "About : Ballet Tucson".