| Greensboro Ballet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Name | Greensboro Ballet |
| Local name | Greensboro Ballet |
| Previous names | Greensboro Civic Ballet, Civic Ballet Theatre |
| Year founded | 1964 |
| Principal venue | Carolina Theatre of Greensboro Greensboro United States |
| Website | Greensboro Ballet |
| Senior staff | |
| Executive Director | Jennifer Savage Gentry |
| School director | Nina Bass Munda |
| Artistic staff | |
| Artistic Director | Christine Cervino Grider |
| Other | |
| Associated schools | The School of Greensboro Ballet |
| Formation |
|
Greensboro Ballet and theSchool of Greensboro Ballet are a professionalballet company and pre-professional ballet school inGreensboro, North Carolina. It is the only ballet company in thePiedmont Triad.[1][2] It is one of the few non-profit ballet companies in North Carolina.[3][4] Greensboro Ballet has presented works byGeorge Balanchine and a number of works made especially for the company by Rick McCullough, Jill Eathorne Bahr, Leslie Jane Pessemier,Elissa Minet Fuchs, andEmery LeCrone.[5]Maryhelen Mayfield, who served as artistic and executive director of Greensboro Ballet from 1980 to 2019, choreographed over twenty-five works for the company.[6]
In 1964 the Greensboro Civic Ballet was formed. The original focus was on providing local dancers with annual performances. In the 1970s the Greensboro Civic Ballet was reorganized under the name Civic Ballet Theatre and a ballet school was created.[7] Organizers of the company approached the United Arts Council of Greensboro for membership as well as funding and space within theGreensboro Cultural Center.Elissa Minet Fuchs, a former soloist with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet of New York City and a dancer withBallet Russe de Monte-Carlo, served as artistic director for one year before joining the board of directors. In 1980, Fuchs brought onMaryhelen Mayfield, a former dancer with theKansas City Ballet, to serve Artistic Director and Executive Director.[8] which performs primarily inGreensboro, North Carolina at theCarolina Theatre of Greensboro.[9] Under the direction of Mayfield and John Dennis, director of The School of Greensboro Ballet, the school received membership in the Southeast Regional Ballet Association and became the first Honor Company in North Carolina, the highest level of membership within the Association. The name then changed from Civic Ballet Theatre to Greensboro Ballet. Professional dancers were introduced into the company in 1995.[10]
Greensboro Ballet has performed with the accompaniment of the EMF Young Artists Orchestra of the Eastern Music Festival and with the Greensboro Symphony.[11][12][13] While the company performs mainly in Greensboro, it has gone on tour various times throughout North Carolina.[14][15]
In 2017, Greensboro Ballet company member Lauren Dorn became the first African-American to dance the role of theSugar Plum Fairy in the company's production ofThe Nutcracker.[16]
In November 2019, the Ballet's Board of Directors made a change in leadership, hiring a three directors to lead the Greensboro Ballet including: Executive Director - Jennifer Savage Gentry, an Interim Artistic Director, and School Director - Nina Bass Munda. These directors held Greensboro Ballet through the COVID pandemic. Christine Cervino Grider was hired as Artistic Director in 2022.[17][18]
Greensboro Ballet's 2020 production ofThe Nutcracker received national attention by the CBS Morning News because Greensboro Ballet safely filmed its full-length holiday production at the Carolina Theatre and then presented this film in aNutcracker Drive-In in the parking lot of theGreensboro Coliseum. This not only allowed its dancers the opportunity to perform, but supported other local businesses including the Carolina Theatre, Greensboro Coliseum, and filmmaker, Paul Byun.
That season, Greensboro Ballet also created a virtual production calledA Benefit for Healthcare Heroes, offering a link to this performance of ballets and other works by local dance groups, at no cost, to the over 10,000 Cone Health employees.[19]
In 2022,Alicia Mae Holloway performed the role of Sugar Plum Fairy as guest artists in The Nutcracker.[20][21]
Greensboro Ballet has performed a wide variety of ballets,[22][23] including:
The company also hostsThe School of Greensboro Ballet, one of the few not-for-profit schools ofclassicalRussian ballet in thePiedmont Triad, and the only school inGuilford County with access toBalanchine choreography.[25] The school is located in theGreensboro Cultural Center. The Director of The School of Greensboro Ballet was John Dennis, a former dancer for the Dallas Ballet, from 1986 to 2019. He was succeeded by Nina Bass Munda, a former principal dancer with the company.
The School of Greensboro Ballet is supported by parents of students through the Ballet Resource and Volunteer Organization (BRAVO). The mission of BRAVO is to support the dance education of students at The School of Greensboro Ballet by fostering relationships among the school, parents, teachers, artistic staff and the Board of Directors. BRAVO provides financial support through fundraising activities and provides adult volunteers to assist the School of Greensboro Ballet students, artists and faculty. [26]
Notable alumni of the School of Greensboro Ballet include:
Greensboro Ballet has a number of programs for community outreach throughout Greensboro and North Carolina.[31] Of these include:
Greensboro Ballet also provides complimentary tickets to other non-profit organizations .
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