Ballet San Jose is a ballet company based in San Jose, California, USA.
The company's mission is to provide the San Francisco Bay Area with theatrically produced ballet and professional dance education in a manner that honors the vision of the artists, meets the highest technical and artistic standards, contributes to the fulfillment of the cultural needs of the community, and is accessible to as wide an audience as possible.
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History [edit]
The company was founded in 1986 as the "San Jose Cleveland Ballet," a co-venture with the ten-year old Cleveland Ballet which offered to the dancers added performing exposure, and each city a ballet company for a moderate, shared investment. In 2000, the Cleveland Ballet ceased operations, and over half the dancers, the headquarters, and artistic director/choreographer Dennis Nahat moved to San Jose to continue operations there. The company was originally known as Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, but in July 2006 shortened its name to simply Ballet San Jose.
In 2003 the company gained benefactor and current chairman of the board John Fry, co-founder of Fry's Electronics).[1] Fry helped the company survive the dot-com crash and has continued to support the company as it has struggled since. Over the years Ballet San Jose relied increasingly on Fry's support, prompting Loewenstern, founding board chair of Cleveland Ballet and Ballet San Jose, to say "...he bought himself a ballet company."[2]
By 2007, there was a resident company of 44 dancers from 14 countries in four continents, with a repertoire of over 120 traditional and modern classical ballets. Performances at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts are accompanied by the Symphony Silicon Valley. The Ballet is now a 'fully owned' resident company serving all of Silicon Valley.
On December 23, 2011, Ballet San Jose announced[3] a partnership with American Ballet Theatre (ABT) which will licence the company "to implement ABT's comprehensive National Training Curriculum for dancers".[4]
In January 2012, long-standing conflict between Nahat and the management board,[5] resulted in Nahat being "ousted"[6] from the company.[2] Shortly after, Fry stepped down from the board, replaced as chair by Lorraine Gilmore of Edison Pharmaceuticals. Kathy Kolder, Vice President of Fry's Electronics, remains on the board with Fry's intending to continue its financial support.[7]
Repertoire [edit]
Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley has developed a repertoire of over 120 traditional and modern classical ballets under the direction of founder and artistic director Dennis Nahat. The Company includes dancers from Argentina, Canada, China, Cuba, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Venezuela, Vietnam, and the United States. The repertoire includes ballets by Balanchine, Bournonville, de Mille, and many others, in addition to Nahat's many ballets created especially for the company. The company performs classic ballets such as The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, as well as more modern ballets such as Blue Suede Shoes, based on Elvis Presley's songs.
In 2008, the Company performed an 8-city tour of China. Called the "Goodwill Tour From Silicon Valley," it represented the first international tour of the Company since its move from Cleveland.[8]
Artistic direction [edit]
Preparations for the 2012 season were delayed, with the dancers' contract being finalized in December 2011 and rehearsals for any performances other than The Nutcracker not begun by mid-December.[1] The company's web site on January 5, 2012 had not announced its 2012 season,[9] but a "shortened"[10] season was later announced, with programs for March, April and May.[11] Although earlier reports[1][12] that Artistic Director Dennis Nahat might be replaced were subsequently denied,[4] his role in the company remained unclear and the 2012 program will be chosen by the artistic committee and the board of directors.[4] In January 2012, the ballet removed Nahat from his role as artistic director[2] and he left the company in early 2012.[13]
As of August, 2012, Ballet San Jose's artistic direction is shared by Principal Ballet Master Raymond Rodriguez, and Artistic Advisor Wes Chapman. The company has entered into a new artistic partnership with American Ballet Theatre. In August, 2012, American conductor George Daugherty was appointed Music Director and Principal Conductor of Ballet San Jose, for whom he will conduct all 2012–2013 performances with Symphony Silicon Valley in the orchestra pit, including new productions of The Nutcracker in December 2012, a new full-length Don Quixote in February 2013, as well as such pieces of mixed repertoire as Sir Frederick Ashton's Lez Rendez-vous and Thais Pas de Deux, and Clark Tippet's Bruch Violin Concerto. After utilizing recorded music for its spring 2012 repertory season, Ballet San Jose will return to performing all performances for its 2012–13 season with live orchestra.[14][15]
Company [edit]
The 2011–2012 company of Ballet San Jose:[16]
Principals [edit]
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Soloists [edit]
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Corps de ballet [edit]
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Apprentices [edit]
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Education [edit]
Today, over 485 students study at the Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley School.[17] The Ballet School's free Education Outreach programs are dedicated to serving young audiences and at-risk children in the San Jose area.
References [edit]
- ^ a b c Hunt, Mary Ellen (December 13, 2011). "San Jose Ballet's Dennis Nahat may be forced out". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
- ^ a b c Hunt, Mary Ellen (January 14, 2012). "Dennis Nahat out at Ballet San Jose". San Francisco Chronicle. p. F-1. Retrieved January 13, 2012. Originally published online January 13, 2012 under the title "Nahat, San Jose Ballet part ways".
- ^ "Ballet San Jose Announces New Artistic and Training Partnership with American Ballet Theatre" (Press release). Ballet San Jose. December 23, 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
- ^ a b c Hamlin, Jesse (December 26, 2011). "Ballet San Jose, American Ballet Theatre in deal". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
- ^ Harmanci, Reyhan (January 5, 2012). "After Disastrous Year, Ballet Tries to Regain Balance". New York Times. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
- ^ Winn, Steven (March 5, 2012). "Ballet San Jose review: Return reaps rich rewards". Retrieved March 19. 2012.
- ^ Scheinin, Richard (January 6, 2012). "John Fry to step down as Ballet San Jose board chair". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
- ^ "Goodwill Tour From Silicon Valley" (Press release). Ballet San Jose. February 20, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
- ^ "Ballet San Jose". balletsj.org. Archived from the original
|archiveurl=requires|url=(help) on January 5, 2012. "2012 season coming soon". - ^ Felciano, Rita (March 5, 2012). "Review: Ballet San Jose's opening program". Mercury News. San Jose. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
- ^ "2012 Season at a Glance". Ballet San Jose. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
- ^ "Ballet San Jose A ballet company losing direction". Ballet News. December 14, 2011.
- ^ Hurst, Ann (April 1, 2012). "Opinion: Ousted Ballet San Jose founder Nahat takes the high road". Mercury News. San Jose. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
- ^ McCollum, Charlie (August 23, 2012). "Ballet San Jose announces new season". San Jose Mercury. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
- ^ "Ballet San Jose Announces 2012 Repertory Season..." (Press release). Ballet San Jose. August 24, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
- ^ "Ballet San Jose 2011–2012 Company List". Ballet San Jose. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
- ^ "Ballet San Jose School". Ballet San Jose. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
External links [edit]
- Official website
- Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley Mission and Background, Ballet San Jose, September 25, 2000
- Private Boeing 747SP used for Ballet San Jose group tours beginning in 2007
- History of Boeing 747SP airframe 21992 observed displaying Ballet San Jose livery
- JetPhotos.net image of Ballet San Jose Boeing 747SP – December 2007 at San Jose International Airport (as N747FU) after Cleveland tour
- Airliners.net image of Ballet San Jose Boeing 747SP – June 2008 at San Jose International Airport (re-registered as N747A) after China tour
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