In 1957, the Ballet Impromptu, founded by Robert C. Watkins Jr.,[1] Marjorie Fay Underhill,[2] and Donna Comstock Forrest, became Richmond's first ballet company.[3] Later, the Ballet Impromptu became the Richmond Ballet.
Richmond Ballet existed for more than twenty years as a small, civic company until 1975, when School of Richmond Ballet was created. In 1980, Stoner Winslett became the founding artistic director Richmond Ballet and developed a professional company of dancers. In 1984, Richmond Ballet became the first professional ballet company in Virginia and was designated the State Ballet of Virginia in 1990, by then Governor Wilder. Richmond Ballet's educational outreach program,Minds In Motion, was founded in 1993. It features a movement curriculum that is taught to 4th-graders across Richmond.[4] In 2000, Richmond Ballet moved into a renovated facility in downtown Richmond.[5]
Upon Stoner Winslett's retirement on July 1, 2024, internationally-renowned choreographer Ma Cong was named Artistic Director.[1]
In a 2011New York Times article on American productions ofTchaikovsky'sThe Nutcracker, dance criticAlastair Macaulay singled out the Richmond Ballet production as one of the best in the country.[6]The company debuted in New York City in 2005 with performances at theJoyce Theater.[7]In October 2013, during the company's 30th season, the Ballet premiered the contemporary work "Phoenix Rising", choreographed byPhilip Neal, a former student of School of Richmond Ballet and dancer for 23 years withNew York City Ballet. Richmond Ballet returned to The Joyce Theater in April 2007 as part of a tribute to American master choreographer John Butler, and again in 2010.
In a typical season, Richmond Ballet presents repertory productions and story ballets, including Stoner Winslett'sThe Nutcracker to Richmond audiences. They currently perform their Studio Series productions at their Studio Theatre in downtown Richmond and their mainstage productions atDominion Energy Center.
The School of Richmond Ballet was founded in 1975.[5] They train students aged four years old and above in ballet, with supplemental education incharacter dance,modern dance, andtheatre dance.[9]
