Cleveland Ballet (founded 2014)

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Cleveland Ballet
General information
NameCleveland Ballet
PredecessorCleveland Ballet (founded 1972)
Year founded2014
Founders
  • Gladisa Guadalupe
  • Michael Krasnyansky
Founding artistic directorGladisa Guadalupe
Principal venuePlayhouse Square, Cleveland, Ohio
Websiteclevelandballet.org
Senior staff
Chief ExecutiveMichael Krasnyansky
Ballet Masters
  • Cynthia Graham
  • Rainer Diaz[1]
Other
Official schoolSchool of Cleveland Ballet

Cleveland Ballet was founded in Cleveland in 2014 by Gladisa Guadalupe and Michael Krasnyansky.[2][3] It is the third incarnation of a Cleveland Ballet, having been preceded by establishments of the same name founded in 1935 and 1972. Guadalupe, an alumna of the School of American Ballet and a former principal dancer,[4] serves as artistic director, and Krasnyansky, a Russian American businessman, serves as president & CEO.[5]

The company has grown from 5 to 26 dancers from 11 different countries and territories over its initial 5 seasons,[6] and as of 2019 was one of the fastest growing professional ballet companies in the U.S.[2] In 2017, it became a resident company of Playhouse Square.[7]

History and growth[]

In October 2015, Cleveland Ballet's inaugural season debuted with the ballet Past. Present. Future. at Playhouse Square, characterized by The Plain Dealer as a "stylistically diverse and entertaining" production.[8] The company continued with a production of Coppélia 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 of A 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.[7] This designation resulted in additional marketing funds, access to more rehearsal space, and priority in scheduling.[7]

In 2017, Cleveland Ballet also reintroduced regular holiday performances of Tchaikovsky's ballet, The Nutcracker, as a seasonal tradition in Cleveland—the first Nutcracker 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 as Alice, a new ballet based on Lewis Carroll's book Alice in Wonderland.[13]

In the fourth season, 2018–2019, the company increased to 20 professional dancers.[14] In addition to The Nutcracker, Cleveland Ballet presented Fall Collection and Coppélia as main stage productions at Playhouse Square.[15][16][17]

In its fifth season, 2019–2020, the ballet grew to 25 dancers, performing Carmen at the Ohio Theatre in October [18] and offering 12 performances of The Nutcracker at the Hanna Theatre in December.[19] The season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020, requiring the cancellation of the company's planned performance of Mozart's The Magic Flute.[20]

Productions[]

Ballet Initial performance date Venue Choreographer(s) Notes and sources
Past. Present. Future. October 2015 Ohio Theatre
  • Gladisa Guadalupe
  • Cynthia Graham
  • Joseph Morrissey
  • Bobby Wesner
  • Gerardo Teissonniere
 [8]
Coppélia May 2016 Ohio Theatre Ramon Oller [9]
A Celebration of Dance & Music October 2016 Ohio Theatre
  • Gladisa Guadalupe
  • Meghan Haas
  • Ramon Thielen
 [21]
The Nutcracker Tea December 2016 Andrews Osborne Academy Gladisa Guadalupe [22]
Midsummer Night’s Dream April 2017 Ohio Theatre Ramon Oller [23]
Les Sylphides October 2017 Ohio Theatre Gladisa Guadalupe [12]
The Nutcracker Suite December 2017 Hanna Theatre Gladisa Guadalupe [11]
Black and White Gala March 2018 Ohio Theatre Gladisa Guadalupe [24]
Alice May 2018 Hanna Theatre Margo Sappinton [23]
Fall Collection October 2018 Ohio Theatre Gladisa Guadalupe [15]
The Nutcracker December 2018 Hanna Theatre
  • Gladisa Guadalupe
  • Marius Petipa
 ,[16][a]
Coppélia April 2019 Ohio Theatre Ramon Oller [17]
Carmen October 2019 Ohio Theatre Gladisa Guadalupe [18]
The Magic Flute (canceled) [May 2020] Ohio Theatre Gladisa Guadalupe ,[25][b]
  1. ^ The Nutcracker was repeated in December 2019 and is anticipated to be an annual production.[19]
  2. ^ The May 2020 The Magic Flute performances were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[26]

References[]

  1. ^ "Artistic Staff". Cleveland Ballet. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Cleveland Ballet". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  3. ^ "Cleveland Ballet Is Reborn". Dance Magazine. 2015-12-07. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  4. ^ Rosenberg, Donald (2013-07-19). "Former Cleveland Ballet dancer Gladisa Guadalupe determined to create classical company named Cleveland Ballet". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  5. ^ Abelman, Bob (December 30, 2019). "Cleveland ballet scene on the rebound". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  6. ^ Hullett, Julie. "Great Ballet for a Great City" (PDF). Chagrin Valley Magazine (2019–20). Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c Lewis, Zachary (May 24, 2017). "Cleveland Ballet awarded residency at Playhouse Square". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Sucato, Steve (October 6, 2015). "Cleveland Ballet makes admirable debut in partnership with Neos Dance Theatre (review)". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b Lewis, Zachary (May 16, 2016). "Cleveland Ballet lands on its feet with charming new version of 'Coppelia' (review)". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Sucato, Steve (April 10, 2017). "Cleveland Ballet rises from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b "Cleveland Ballet brings "The Nutcracker Suite" back to Playhouse Square, hosts children's auditions September 23 | Today's Family Magazine". www.todaysfamilymagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Lewis, Zachary (2017-10-11). "Cleveland Ballet looking all directions on season opener". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  13. ^ "Cleveland Ballet Creates An Unconventional Wonderland With Alice". clevelandmagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  14. ^ Fall Collection, playbill from Playhouse Square. Dates: October 19–20, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Morrison, Laura. "The New Cleveland Ballet Heads Into its Fourth Season With a Playhouse Square Residency". Cleveland Scene. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Nutcracker returns to Playhouse Square Dec. 12-16". Richland Source. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b Sucato, Steve (March 30, 2019). ""Cleveland Ballet to Perform Newly Enhanced Version of Ramón Oller's 'Coppélia'."". Arts Air. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b Lewis, Zachary (2019-05-14). "Cleveland Ballet announces new season of classic tales at Playhouse Square". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b "Gladisa Guadalupe, Madison Campbell, Jason Wang – "Nutcracker" Dances to Cleveland". WKYC. November 12, 2019. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  20. ^ Morona, Joey (2020-04-13). "Playhouse Square to remain closed at least through May 31". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  21. ^ "Gladisa Guadalupe - Cleveland Ballet Presents: A Celebration of Dance & Music 10/04/2016". wkyc.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  22. ^ DeJong, Lisa (2016-12-19). "Cleveland Ballet's Nutcracker (photos)". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b Lewis, Zachary (2017-03-31). "Cleveland Ballet has new version of Bard's 'Midsummer'". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  24. ^ Mendes, Jeff (April 19, 2018). "Cleveland Ballet's White & Black with a Touch Of Blue Gala". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  25. ^ Sherin, Emelia (March 2, 2020). "original Costume Design Brightens Up Cleveland Ballet's The Magic Flute" (PDF) (Press release). Cleveland Ballet. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  26. ^ Sherin, Emelia (March 21, 2020). "original Cleveland Ballet's Suspends Performances Of The Magic Flute, may 8th and May 9th" (PDF) (Press release). Cleveland Ballet. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
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