Eugene Ballet is an American ballet company based in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

. A resident company of the

Hult Center for the Performing Arts The Hult Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts venue in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. The Hult Center is located downtown on Willamette Street between 6th & 7th Avenues, adjacent to the AJ Capital Partners, Graduate Eugene (previou ...

, it performs a repertoire of full-length classical ballets, and operates a ballet academy. For more than 20 years, the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

has funded Eugene Ballet performances throughout the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

and nationally.

History

Eugene Ballet opened in Eugene in 1979, performing ''The Soldier's Tale.'' In 1982, the company toured and performed in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. Other highlights of the company's early history include their 1990 performance of

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Kesey was born in ...

's ''Little Tricker the Squirrel meets Big Double the Bear,'' their first performances of ''Swan Lake'' in 1992, and Arts America international tour funded by the

U.S. Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to " public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bill ...

in 1995. The company performed with

Pink Martini Pink Martini is an American band that was founded in 1994 by pianist Thomas Lauderdale in Portland, Oregon. Group members call it a little orchestra that crosses several styles, such as classical, latin, traditional pop, and jazz. The co-lead vo ...

in 2006 and 2018. Eugene Ballet joined in performance with

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...

Pacific Northwest Ballet Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 49 dan ...

, and

Oregon Ballet Theatre Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT) is a ballet company in Portland, Oregon, United States. The company performs an annual five-program season at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts and conducts regional and national tours. It was featured in t ...

at Schnitzer Concert Hall in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

in 2008. The company has also performed in the Oregon Festival of American Music and the

Oregon Bach Festival Oregon Bach Festival (OBF) is an annual celebration of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and his musical legacy, held in Eugene, Oregon, United States, in late June and early July. About the festival The festival's programming is three-fold. It ...

, as well as with the American Symphonia,

Oregon Mozart Players Oregon Mozart Players is a professional chamber orchestra based in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The orchestra presents five concert sets in a typical season, in addition to numerous small ensemble performances and recitals by guest artists. Orc ...

, and the Eugene Opera,

Programs

Repertoire of classical ballets

Eugene Ballet performed ''Firebird'' at the 1982 opening of the ''Hult Center''. The company received a $15,000

grant in 2018, "To support the premiere of ''Peer Gynt'', a multimedia ballet by choreographer Toni Pimble based on Henrik Ibsen's fairy tale play, ''Peer Gynt''." Other classical ballets in the company's reperetoire include Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and Schéhérazade.

Eugene Ballet Academy

The Eugene Ballet Academy begin offering lessons in 1964, "To provide a sound education and inspiring opportunities in dance that nurture, motivate and instill an appreciation of the art of classical ballet and dance repertoire." It serves dance students from age three to adult.

Financials

Revenues in 2018 exceeded USD $2.78 million, and total assets more than $3.630 million.

Awards, grants

* Governors Arts Awards for Excellence in the Arts, 1996 * In 2017, the

Eugene Weekly ''Eugene Weekly'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Eugene, Oregon. The paper, published every Thursday, has a circulation of 39,850. It publishes an annual "Best of Eugene" list, a restaurant guide ("Chow!"), and special section ...

reported EBC had received NEA grants for 20 years.

References

External links

* * , video, 4:25 * , video, 1:37:57 * , video, 47:00 Ballet companies in the United States 1978 establishments in Oregon Performing groups established in 1978 {{DEFAULTSORT:Eugene Ballet 1978 establishments