| Cleveland Ballet | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Name | Cleveland Ballet |
| Predecessor | Cleveland Ballet (founded 1972) |
| Year founded | 2014 |
| Founders |
|
| Founding artistic director | Gladisa Guadalupe |
| Principal venue | Playhouse Square,Cleveland,Ohio |
| Website | cleveballet |
| Senior staff | |
| Chief Executive | Larry Goodman |
| Artistic staff | |
| Artistic Director | Timour Bourtasenkov |
| Other | |
| Official school | The Academy of Cleveland Ballet |
Cleveland Ballet was founded inCleveland in 2014 byGladisa Guadalupe and Michael Krasnyansky.[1][2] It is the third incarnation of a Cleveland Ballet, having been preceded by establishments of the same name founded in1935 and1972.
The company has grown from 5 to 26 dancers from 11 countries and territories over its initial 5 seasons,[3] and as of 2019[update] was one of the fastest growing professional ballet companies in the U.S.[1] In 2017, it became a resident company ofPlayhouse Square.[4]
This incarnation of the Cleveland Ballet was founded byGladisa Guadalupe (then artistic director) and her husband, Michael Krasnyansky (then CEO).[5] Guadalupe is an alumna of theSchool of American Ballet and a formerprincipal dancer,[6] and Krasnyansky is a Ukrainian American businessman.[7] In October 2015, Cleveland Ballet's inaugural season debuted with the balletPast. Present. Future. at Playhouse Square, characterized byThe Plain Dealer as a "stylistically diverse and entertaining" production.[8] The company continued with a production ofCoppélia in May 2016, described as "evidence of a company eager and able to do great things", with the dancers' performances as "mostly excellent".[9]
By its second season, 2016–2017, the ballet had grown to fourteen members.[10] It concluded the season with a performance ofA Midsummer Night's Dream, which was reviewed as featuring "smartly-crafted, deceptively difficult, and wonderfully illustrative choreography".[10]
Cleveland Ballet became Playhouse Square's resident classical ballet company in 2017, during its third season.[4] This designation resulted in additional marketing funds, access to more rehearsal space, and priority in scheduling.[4]
In 2017, Cleveland Ballet also reintroduced regular holiday performances ofTchaikovsky's ballet,The Nutcracker, as a seasonal tradition in Cleveland—the firstNutcracker production by a local company at Playhouse Square since 1999.[11] Additional performances of the season included the 1909 ballet,Les Sylphides,[12] as well asAlice, a new ballet based onLewis Carroll's bookAlice in Wonderland.[13]
In the fourth season, 2018–2019, the company increased to 20 professional dancers.[14] In addition toThe Nutcracker, Cleveland Ballet presentedFall Collection andCoppélia as main stage productions at Playhouse Square.[15][16][17]
In its fifth season, 2019–2020, the ballet grew to 25 dancers, performingCarmen at theOhio Theatre in October[18] and offering 12 performances ofThe Nutcracker at theHanna Theatre in December.[19] The season was cut short by theCOVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, requiring the cancellation of the company's planned performance ofMozart'sThe Magic Flute.[20]
Gladisa Guadalupe and Michael Krasnyansky were suspended in November 2023 following “serious workplace allegations” made by employees to the Ballet's Board of Directors.[21][22] A week later, Michael Krasnyansky resigned.[23]
In early January 2024, the Cleveland Ballet ceased its affiliation with the Cleveland School of Dance which was started by then-artistic director Guadalupe.[5] An additional investigation ordered by the Board of Directors found Guadalupe and Krasnyansky to have committed financial improprieties, practiced nepotism in personnel matters, and committed sexual harassment. Guadalupe was fired from her position of Artistic Director on January 10, 2024.[24][25] Guadalupe and Krasnyansky have denied the allegations.[25]
In January of 2024, the Cleveland Ballet Board of Directors appointed Timour Bourtasenkov as new Artistic Director.[26] In April 2024, the Cleveland Ballet Board of Directors Appointed Larry Goodman President and Chief Executive Officer.[27]
