Nashville Ballet marks its 23rd Season in 2008/2009,
and is the largest professional dance company in Tennessee.
Founded in 1981 as a civic dance company and becoming a professional company in 1986, Nashville Ballet has flourished into the only professional ballet company in Middle Tennessee, earning the respect of Nashville audiences and reviewers alike by making classical and contemporary ballet accessible to new and traditional audiences. The mission of Nashville Ballet is to create, perform, and promote dance and provide educational and outreach programs to enrich our community and enhance the quality of life in Nashville. Nashville Ballet entertains, educates and inspires more than 61,000 adults and children annually. Nashville Ballet performs both classical pieces and contemporary works by noted choreographers, as well as Artistic Director Paul Vasterling’s own works which are known and performed both nationally and worldwide.
Gaining national recognition, the Ballet’s influence far exceeds the Nashville community. In October 2005, the company toured through South America, performing in six cities in Argentina and Uruguay. In 2006, Nashville Ballet toured in Amarillo, TX, and was featured in February of 2008 at the Germantown Performing Arts Center in Germantown, TN. Nashville Ballet has also toured to locations such as New Orleans and New York City. Paul Vasterling traveled to Argentina in the summer of 2007 to set the choreography of Romeo & Juliet for Ballet Argentino de La Plata. Many of the Ballet’s artistic staff and 22 company dancers and apprentices have trained and/or performed with some of the most outstanding names in the world of dance including The Royal Ballet Company (England), Ballet Manila, Alvin Ailey, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet.
The 2008/2009 Season brings The Bell Witch and Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments in the fall, a brand-new Nashville based Nutcracker choreographed by Paul Vasterling in December, Twyla Tharp’s Sinatra Suite along with James Canfield’s Jungle in February, and a premiere of Carmina Burana in April.
In addition to its “story” ballets and other classic and contemporary works, Nashville Ballet has achieved the status of a key community resource. As early as 1996, Nashville Ballet forged valuable creative collaborations with local area singers, songwriters and choreographers, crafting a repertory that reflects the exceptional character of Middle Tennessee. Local singers and songwriters Hal Ketchum, Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, Darrell Scott, Gary Nicholson, and Victor Mecyssne have each collaborated on works with the Ballet.
The School of Nashville Ballet has an annual enrollment of over 500 students and offers the highest level of training programs throughout the year. Operating at two sites, the School serves Nashville with classes for Primary, Lower and Upper Divisions, as well as an Advanced Placement Program for the student aspiring to a professional career in classical dance and an Adult Division featuring ballet. The ballet curriculum is firmly rooted in the classical technique and additionally offers an eclectic education including modern dance, jazz and character. The School’s faculty is comprised of national and international hand-selected instructors that bring a wealth of teaching and performing experience to each and every student. In a continuing link between the Company and the School, pre-professional candidates are engaged each year to work alongside the professional Company, and School students appear in works throughout the season. The School’s Summer Intensive training program attracts pre-professional students from throughout the world.
An intrinsic part of Nashville Ballet’s mission is its commitment to community outreach and education, which impacts children, families and seniors throughout Nashville’s 15-county area at schools, libraries and community centers. The recently expanded Learning Curves outreach program is reaching record numbers of community members across Middle Tennessee. Demand for Outreach programs has tripled over recent years. Today the Ballet reaches over 61,000 children and adults annually with over 300 live performances augmented by teacher’s guides and interactive learning sessions that demonstrate the grace and athleticism of the classical ballet dancer. In addition to lecture/demonstrations at public and private schools, Nashville Ballet regularly performs for school groups as part of TPAC’s Humanities Outreach in Tennessee (H.O.T.) program. The Ballet also collaborates with the Metropolitan Nashville Public Library, Belmont University, Metro Nashville Parks and Recreation and social service agencies to introduce children and adults throughout Middle Tennessee to the rich performing art of dance. In addition, Nashville Ballet incorporates more than 200 children from the community into its annual Nutcracker performances as a way to allow them the opportunity to perform on stage at TPAC and work alongside the company dancers of Nashville Ballet and the musicians of The Nashville Symphony.