Houston Ballet News
Houston, Texas - Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch's artistic plans for the company's 2005-2006 season, included four promotions and the addition of seven new dancers for the 2005-2006 season.
Corps de ballet dancer Melody Herrera has been promoted to soloist for the upcoming season. Corps dancers Oliver Halkowich, Lisa Kaczmarek, and Ricardo Torres have been named demi soloists. Among the new dancers joining the company this year is Amy Fote as first soloist.
In his third year as director, Mr. Welch is bringing in a host of notable choreographers, coaches, and teachers who will be teaching, rehearsing, staging, and setting works on the company. Guest artists working with Houston Ballet will include Georgina Parkinson, John Meehan, Yannick Boquin, Joanna Berman, Reid Anderson, Jane Bourne, Roslyn Anderson, Brian Enos, Ben Stevenson, Victoria Simon, and Christopher Bruce. Former Houston Ballet Principal Dawn Scannell will join the company's artistic staff full time as ballet mistress in the spring of 2006.
"This will be a wonderful year for our dancers," commented Mr. Welch. "They will benefit tremendously from the wisdom and expertise of these artists. It's important to be exposed to new ideas and coaching techniques - to be challenged, pushed and inspired. It's an invaluable part of every dancer's training and development."
Other dance world stars who will work with Houston Ballet this season include Reid Anderson, current artistic director of Stuttgart Ballet and former artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada, and Jane Bourne, a choreologist and repetiteur who sets John Cranko's works around the world. Roslyn Anderson, Nederlands Dans Theater rehearsal director and repetiteur who stages Ji?í Kylián's works around the world, will set Kylián's "Forgotten Land" for Houston Ballet, a company premiere. Houston Ballet Artistic Director Emeritus Ben Stevenson returns to coach the company in his productions of "The Nutcracker" and "Don Quixote," and rising choreographic star Brian Enos will create a new work for Houston Ballet in September. Balanchine Trust repetiteur Victoria Simon returns to Houston Ballet to stage "Western Symphony" and acclaimed British choreographer Christopher Bruce will create a new work for the company, also in March 2006.