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Dance //
Ballet West //
Ballet West originated in Salt Lake City in 1963 as the Utah Civic Ballet. Willam F. Christensen, creator of the company and its first artistic director, is also noted for establishing, with his brothers Lew and Harold, the oldest ballet company in the western United States, the San Francisco Ballet, in 1937. Christensen is heralded for establishing the first ballet department in an American university, the University of Utah, in 1951 and for being the first American to choreograph full-length versions of The Nutcracker, Coppélia and Cinderella.
In 1968, the Federation of Rocky Mountain States chose the Utah Civic Ballet to represent the west and the company was renamed Ballet West. In 1978, Ballet West moved into its new home in the renovated Capitol Theatre. That same year, Bruce Marks became artistic director and served in that capacity until 1985. In 1985, John Hart, former principal dancer, ballet master, assistant director and administrator of the Royal Ballet of England, was named artistic director.
Jonas Kâge was appointed artistic director in 1997. Throughout his extensive association with ballet as dancer, choreographer and director, Kâge established significant relationships with many international masters of the art form, including Hans van Manen, Jiri Kylian, William Forsythe and Glen Tetley. As a result, Ballet West has added to its repertoire a wide range of repertoire including Polish Pieces and In and Out by van Manen, Bach Moves by Ted Brandsen, and Kâge's own award-winning staging of Swan Lake.
Ballet West's highly acclaimed Education Outreach program reaches 74,000 students annually. Ballet West is committed to enhancing the lives of youth, reaching every child in Utah during their elementary years. Currently, the professional company is comprised of 45 dancers who perform in over 70 performances annually in the Salt Lake Valley and throughout the United States. In the fall of 2000, the company had a successful five city tour of China as the only North American representative at the Sixth National China Arts Festival.
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