![Oregon Ballet Theatre headquarters](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Oregon_Ballet_Theatre_headquarters.jpg)
Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT) is a
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
company in
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
,
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, United States. The company performs an annual five-program season at the
Portland Center for the Performing Arts
Portland's Centers for the Arts (stylized as Portland'5 Centers for the Arts), formerly known as the Portland Center for the Performing Arts (PCPA), is an organization within Metro that runs venues for live theatre, concerts, cinema, small confer ...
and conducts regional and national tours.
It was featured in the October/November 2007 issue of
''Pointe'' magazine, with principal dancer
Kathi Martuza on the cover.
[
]
History
The company is the result of the 1989 merger of Ballet Oregon and Pacific Ballet Theater. James Canfield, a former dancer with
Joffrey Ballet
The Joffrey Ballet is one of the premier dance companies and training institutions in the world today. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at Lyric O ...
and principal dancer with Pacific Ballet Theater, served as Artistic Director of Oregon Ballet Theater from its inception until 2003.
Under his leadership the company repertoire grew to comprise over 80 ballets, from evening-length works to contemporary pieces.
Stowell
Christopher Stowell was the artistic director from 2003 to the end of 2012. During Stowell's tenure, the company added the work of
Sir Frederick Ashton
Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue.
Determined to be a dancer despite the oppositi ...
,
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television.
Among his nu ...
,
William Forsythe,
Lar Lubovitch
Lar Lubovitch (born April 9, 1943) is an American choreographer. He founded his own dance company, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968. Based in New York City, the company has performed in all 50 American states as well as in more than 30 cou ...
, and
Christopher Wheeldon
Christopher Peter Wheeldon OBE (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet.
Life and career
Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dan ...
to its repertoire. New works have been created on the company by
James Kudelka
James Kudelka, OC (born September 10, 1955 at Newmarket, Ontario), is a Canadian choreographer, dancer, and director. He was the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada from 1996 to 2005, now serving as the National Ballet's artist in ...
,
Trey McIntyre
Trey McIntyre (born November 12, 1969) is an American dancer and choreographer, who has a body of work that includes around 100 original dance pieces. He founded and acts as president of Trey McIntyre Project, a dance company that was based in B ...
, Yuri Possokhov, Julia Adam, and Nicolo Fonte. In addition, Christopher Stowell choreographed eight new ballets with the company's dancers.
Company
Artistic Directors
* Kevin Irving (2013–Present)
* Christopher Stowell (2003-2012)
* James Canfield (1989-2003)
School of Oregon Ballet Theatre
OBT also runs the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre, directed by Marion Tonner.
School Directors
* Marion Tonner (2018–present)
* Anthony Jones (2013-2018)
* Damara Bennett (2003-2013)
See also
*
List of Oregon Ballet Theatre performers
References
External links
*
{{Ballet companies
Ballet schools in the United States
1989 establishments in Oregon
Performing groups established in 1989