Ballet Austin is the 12th largest classical ballet company in the US, and also operates the largest combined training facility associated with a professional ballet company in the United States. Each year the Ballet Austin company performs ballets from a wide variety of choreographers, including

Stephen Mills Stephen Mills (born August 18, 1960 in Morganfield, Kentucky) is an American dancer and choreographer and is currently the Artistic Director/Choreographer at Ballet Austin. Under his tenure, Ballet Austin has been invited on four occasions to pe ...

Performances

Ballet Austin has performed in a State Department trip to Europe as well as at the Joyce Theater in New York City and

The Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

in Washington, D.C.

Education

The Ballet Austin Academy serves more than 900 students each year as one of the largest classical ballet schools in the country. It offers classes from creative movement, ages three and four, all the way to pre-professional. The academy students are given the opportunity to perform in the company production The Nutcracker, performed by Ballet Austin during the month of December for more than 53 years. Ballet Austin's Nutcracker is the longest running in the state of Texas. Ballet Austin's apprentice company, Ballet Austin II, offers an opportunity for post-high school, advanced dancers to hone their skills. Established in 1999 by associate artistic director Michelle Martin, Ballet Austin II is made up of 10 emerging artists. Founded in 2007, the Butler Center for Dance & Fitness serves over 8,000 people with year-round classes in ballet to modern, hip hop to hula, and jazz to Broadway. The company has developed outreach initiatives that reach 31 Central Texas school districts and 200 other area non-profits. Ballet Austin offers fitness and dance programs for the public, such as yoga, Pilates, adult ballet, hula, hip-hop, jazz, tap, modern and musical theater.

Facilities

Ballet Austin is located in a 34,000 sq/ft facility named the Butler Dance Education Center in downtown Austin at 3rd Street and San Antonio Street. The center features administrative offices, box office, eight rehearsal studios, a 1,500 sq. ft fully equipped Pilates studio and the AustinVentures StudioTheater with 287 seats.

Reception

''Dance Magazine'' called the ensemble "sleek and sophisticated", while '' The Washington Post'' dubbed it "one of the nation's best kept ballet secrets". Mills' work with Ballet Austin has been declared" whimsical and fantastic" (''Dallas Morning News''), "effortlessly striking" (''Dance View Times''), and "meaningful" (''Pointe'' magazine).

Artists

Artistic Director

Named Artistic Director in 2000,

is an American dancer and choreographer.

Company dancers

There are twenty two full-time professional dancers, recruited from an annual 30-city audition tour. As of November 2015: * Ian J. Bethany * Orlando Julius Canova * Edward Carr * Oliver Greene-Cramer * James Fuller * Ashley Lynn Sherman * Rebecca Johnson * Aara Krumpe * Grace Morton * Kevin Murdock-Waters * Preston Andrew Patterson * Elise Pekarek * Chelsea Renner * Brittany Strickland * Christopher Swaim * Cassia Wilson * Jaime Lynn Witts

Ballet Austin II dancers

As of September 2016: * Abby Chen * Nicole Del Bene * Constance Doyle * Katherine Deuitch * Paul Martin * Hailey Dupont * Matthew Gattozzi * Jake Howard * Madeline Mass

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Ballet Ballet companies in the United States Ballet schools in the United States

Ballet Austin Ballet Austin is the 12th largest classical ballet company in the US, and also operates the largest combined training facility associated with a professional ballet company in the United States. Each year the Ballet Austin company performs ball ...

Dance schools in the United States Dance in Texas