Washington Ballet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Washington Ballet is one of the premiere ballet companies in the United States. The company is an outgrowth of the Washington School of Ballet, which was founded in 1944 by Lisa Gardner and Mary Day; pioneers in American dance. Renowned as an exceptional training facility, in the 1950's a group of students performed with the National Symphony Orchestra and began touring throughout New York and Virginia. In 1961 the company premiered Mary Day's The Nutcracker with the National Symphony Orchestra at Constitution Hall. Their annual presentation of The Nutcracker has been a DC holiday tradition for more than 40 years.
In 1976 the Washington Ballet Company was officially formed. The company's first resident choreographer was Choo San Goh, who came to the company from the Dutch National Ballet and directed 19 ballets for the company before his death in 1987. The company produces a full season of ballets at the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra, tours internationally and continues to operate one of the top dance training facilities in the country. Well known former pupils include Amanda McKerrow and Kevin McKenzie. Founder Mary Day retired in 2003, handing the company's artistic reigns over to Septime Webre, who is the company's current artistic director. Jeff Edwards is associate artistic director and John Goding ballet master. Mary Day died in July of 2006 leaving a rich legacy of contributions to American Dance.
