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Carolina Ballet is one of America’s premier arts organizations, programming traditional ballets by legendary masters and new works by contemporary choreographers. The Ballet was launched as a professional company in 1998 under the direction of Founding Artistic Director Robert Weiss. In 2019, Zalman Raffael became the Artistic Director/CEO joined by Michele Weathers as Executive Director. For more than 20 years, Carolina Ballet has garnered critical praise from the national and international media, staged over 100 world premiere ballets, and in 2018, chartered the School of Carolina Ballet. Since its inaugural season in 1998, Carolina Ballet and this community have accomplished something remarkable. The Company has grown from a budget of $1.2 million featuring sixteen dancers and five apprentices in three programs to a $6.0 million budget featuring 38 dancers in eight programs including the magical holiday tradition, ''The Nutcracker''.
Carolina Ballet, Inc. was founded in 1984 as Raleigh Dance Theatre, Inc. by Ann Vorus, owner of the Raleigh Dance Theatre.
As a student company, its purpose was to provide performance opportunities for students of the school. Over several years, both the school and the company grew in reputation and stature in its metamorphosis as Carolina Ballet Theatre, a pre-professional regional company under Ms. Vorus and her successor as Artistic Director, Mary LeGere. Performances of the company began to attract favorable notice from area dance critics. In the fall of 1993, Raleigh lawyer Ward Purrington suggested to Ms. Vorus and the Raleigh Dance Theatre board that the company aspire to professional status. Market research suggested a professional dance presence in the Triangle region was not only needed but desired as well.
Robert Weiss, a former principal dancer with New York City Ballet and past artistic director of Pennsylvania Ballet, was selected in April 1997 as the founding artistic director of the new professional company, known as Carolina Ballet, Inc.
Jan Burkhard
Kiefer Curtis
Amanda Gerhardt
Ashley Hathaway
Richard Krusch
Marcelo Martinez
Jayson Pescasio
Alyssa Pilger
Courtney Schenberger
Margaret Severin-Hansen
Yevgeny Shlapko
Carolina Ballet Website
{{authority control Dance in North Carolina Ballet companies in the United States Ballet schools in the United States Culture of Raleigh, North Carolina 1997 establishments in North Carolina Performing groups established in 1997 Tourist attractions in Raleigh, North Carolina
Mission Statement
Carolina Ballet’s vision is to remain one of the top ballet companies in America with national and international recognition, thus contributing to the enhanced reputation and ever-increasing quality of life in our community and the State of North Carolina. Carolina Ballet’s mission is to perform world-class professional ballet, entertaining and enlightening audiences in Raleigh, the Triangle region, the State of North Carolina, and beyond. It will accomplish this mission by: * attracting, developing, and retaining excellent dancers and artistic personnel combined with a fiscally responsible management and board of directors; * commissioning new works by innovative choreographers; * presenting traditional ballets of legendary masters; * educating current and future audiences through programs for school-aged children and other performance outreach activities.History
Carolina Ballet, Inc. was founded in 1984 as Raleigh Dance Theatre, Inc. by Ann Vorus, owner of the Raleigh Dance Theatre.
As a student company, its purpose was to provide performance opportunities for students of the school. Over several years, both the school and the company grew in reputation and stature in its metamorphosis as Carolina Ballet Theatre, a pre-professional regional company under Ms. Vorus and her successor as Artistic Director, Mary LeGere. Performances of the company began to attract favorable notice from area dance critics. In the fall of 1993, Raleigh lawyer Ward Purrington suggested to Ms. Vorus and the Raleigh Dance Theatre board that the company aspire to professional status. Market research suggested a professional dance presence in the Triangle region was not only needed but desired as well.
Robert Weiss, a former principal dancer with New York City Ballet and past artistic director of Pennsylvania Ballet, was selected in April 1997 as the founding artistic director of the new professional company, known as Carolina Ballet, Inc.
Notable productions
* Handel's ''Messiah'', choreography by Robert Weiss, premiering in 1998 * Beethoven, Janáček, J. Mark Scearce ''The Kreutzer Sonata
''The Kreutzer Sonata'' (russian: Крейцерова соната, ) is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, named after Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 9 (Beethoven), Kreutzer Sonata. The novella was published in 1889, and was promptly censored by the Rus ...
'', based on the Tolstoy novella, 2000
* Carl Orff, ''Carmina Burana
''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreverent ...
'', choreography by Lynne Taylor-Corbett Lynne Taylor-Corbett is a choreographer, director, lyricist, and composer. She was born in Denver, Colorado.
Life
Lynne Taylor-Corbett grew up in the Denver, Colorado area, gaining her first exposure to dance through her mother, a pianist for ball ...
, first performed in 2001
* Poulenc, Debussy, Chausson ''Monet Impressions'', 2006
* Paul Moravec, ''Tempest Fantasy'', based on William Shakespeare's The Tempest, 2007
* Robert Weiss, "Cinderella," music by Karl Moraski
Dancers
Dancers of the Carolina Ballet, as of July 2021:Principals
Jan Burkhard
Kiefer Curtis
Amanda Gerhardt
Ashley Hathaway
Richard Krusch
Marcelo Martinez
Jayson Pescasio
Alyssa Pilger
Courtney Schenberger
Margaret Severin-Hansen
Yevgeny Shlapko
Soloists
*Sam Ainley *Taylor Ayotte *Kathleen Black *Luke Potgieter *Sokvannara Sar *McKenzie Van Oss *Lauren WolframCorps de Ballet
*Kim Cockrell *Zoe D'Astolfo *Saskia de Muinck Keizer *Mia Domini *Laurel Dorn *Heather Duncan *Nicholas Fokine *Joseph Gerhardt *Braden Hart *Anthony Hoyos *Anna Ingold *Aaron Magee *Stephen Marshall *Ayla O'Day *Sofie Rose Peetoom *SarahAnne Perel *Rachel Robinson *Deirdre Scanlon *Bilal Smith *Anne WrightReferences
External links
Carolina Ballet Website
{{authority control Dance in North Carolina Ballet companies in the United States Ballet schools in the United States Culture of Raleigh, North Carolina 1997 establishments in North Carolina Performing groups established in 1997 Tourist attractions in Raleigh, North Carolina