Ballet Rhode Island (Ballet RI), formerly known as "Festival Ballet Providence", is a ballet company located in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, United States. Ballet RI performs at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Moses Brown School's Woodman Center, and their own Black Box Theatre.

History

The company was founded in 1978 by Christine Hennessey and Winthrop Corey (1945-2023), former principal dancers with the

Royal Winnipeg Ballet The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also fou ...

. After the death of Hennessey in 1998, Mihailo Djuric took over as Artistic Director, and led the company until 2020.

Kathleen Breen Combes Kathleen Breen Combes is an American ballet dancer. She was a principal dancer with the Boston Ballet until 2019, when she retired to join Festival Ballet Providence as executive director. Early life Breen Combes was born in Rockville Cen ...

has been Director since 2021.

Leadership

Directors: *Mihailo Djuric, Artistic Director (1998-2020) *

Executive Director (beginning 2019), and Director (since 2021) Ballet RI also runs the School of Ballet RI (formerly Festival Ballet Providence School). School directors: *Vilia Putrius (2018-2020) *Marissa Parmenter (2020-2023) *

Sarah Lane Sarah Lane (born August 3, 1984) is an American ballet dancer who was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre (ABT). She served as a "dance double" for Natalie Portman in the 2010 film ''Black Swan''. Early life Lane was born in San Fr ...

(from September 2023)

References

External links

* {{official, http://balletri.org Ballet companies in the United States Performing arts in Rhode Island Dance in Rhode Island Performing groups established in 1978