BalletMet
BalletMet is an American ballet company and academy based in Columbus, Ohio.[1] Located in downtown Columbus, BalletMet facilities include a black box theatre performance space, seven dance studios, administrative offices and costume and scene shops.
BalletMet | |
---|---|
General information | |
Name | BalletMet |
Previous names | Ballet Metropolitan |
Founder | Daryl Kamer |
Website | balletmet |
Senior staff | |
Executive Director | Sue Porter |
Artistic staff | |
Artistic Director | Edwaard Liang |
Ballet Master | Hisham Omardien |
Ballet Mistress | Susan Dromisky |
Other | |
Orchestra | Columbus Symphony Orchestra |
Official school | BalletMet Academy |
BalletMet's professional company stages 60 to 70 performances each year in Columbus and on tour. In the past, the company has toured 28 U.S. states and internationally to Russia, Poland, Egypt, Spain and Canada.
BalletMet operates a dance academy that instructs about 1,500 students of all ages yearly. Classes offered include ballet, tap, modern, and pilates. The current Academy Director is Maria Torija, a former professional dancer with Berlin State Ballet.
BalletMet developed DanceReach, a series of educational and outreach programs serving nearly 30,000 people annually. The DanceReach program offers up to 60 scholarships each year to talented youth, many from minority and under-served groups, who could not otherwise participate in dance training.
The current company came into existence in July 1978, with a $200,000 grant from the Battelle Memorial Institute Foundation. At that time it consisted of three staff and 12 dancers, and soon hired Wayne Soulant as its first artistic director. By 1997, the company had expanded to 25 dancers.[2] The current company consists of 26 dancers and a second company of 6 dancers.
Artistic directors
- Wayne Soulant (1978–86)
- John McFall (1986–94)
- David Nixon (1995–2001)
- Gerard Charles (2001–12)
- Edwaard Liang (2013–present)
Dancers
BalletMet's current company consists of the following dancers:[3]
- TyLeigh Baughman
- Jorge Boza
- Jessica Brown
- Leiland Charles
- Francesca Dugarte
- Zachary Guthier
- Johnathon Hart
- Jonathan Jordan
- Kristie Latham
- Lily Mangianruga
- Sophie Miklosovic
- Jim Nowakowski
- Rachael Parini
- Austin Powers
- Grace-Anne Powers
- Sean Rollofson
- Lisset Santander
- Alvin Tovstogray
- Caitlin Valentine
- Carly Wheaton
- David Ward
- Karen Wing
References
- "Home Page". BalletMet. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
- Zuck, Barbara (January 1998). "BalletMet: a renaissance in Ohio". Dance Magazine. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
- "Company Members". Retrieved December 31, 2020.