ABOUT VIRGINIA BALLET THEATRE
& ACADEMY
"Enriching the Community and the Arts with Professional Dance and Dance Education"
Virginia Ballet Theatre
is building on a tradition that began in 1961 when Gene Hammett founded
the Norfolk Civic Ballet to promote regional
ballet, train young dancers and to provide a center for creativity in
the Arts.
By 1987 when former student Glenn White returned to become Artistic Director, Hammett's studio had become the Tidewater Ballet Association and prospered. Glenn White, who had been a principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet and founder of the Arpeggio Ballet in Los Angeles, convinced Frank and Janina Bove to move from California to Norfolk to build the Company. In 1991 they renamed the Company Virginia Ballet Theatre, expanded its school and performance schedule and brought a new spirit of professionalism, excellence and community involvement.
Since then, Virginia
Ballet Theatre has continued to expand to what has become a fully professional
Company and Academy. Over 200 alumni from
VBT have gone on to professional careers with such noted companies as
The New York City Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Twyla Tharp Dance
Company, Cleveland/San Jose Ballet and The Nashville Ballet. Virginia
Ballet Theatre will continue to strive to serve the Hampton Roads
Community and Southeastern Virginia.
The Academy of Virginia
Ballet Theatre boasts a professional faculty with years of combined
performing, teaching and staging experience. In addition to Classical
Ballet technique, the Academy offers classes in Modern Dance, Tap, Jazz,
Yoga and Character Dance. It is the goal of the entire faculty to
provide a strong foundation of technique in these various dance forms,
as well as to foster a love of movement and the arts. The ballet syllabus
is eclectic,
based on the best training methods of the American, Russian and French
schools. In addition to a year-end school performance in June, students
may
have the opportunity to perform in the company's annual production of
The Nutcracker. Other performance opportunities include The First Pointe
Players
and VBT II, Virginia Ballet Theatre's junior company. It is our sincerest
goal that all students, regardless of professional aspirations, achieve
a life long
love of dance in a nurturing and supportive environment.
Virginia Ballet Theatre's
professional company is one of only two professional companies in the
State, presenting a full season of works by great
masters such as George Balanchine, Lew Christiansen, Sir Frederick Ashton,
Robert Joffrey, Agnes de Mille, Erick Hawkins and Twyla Tharpe. The
value that Virginia Ballet Theatre brings to the community is often
underestimated. As the region's only professional ballet company we
compliment the
Virginia Opera, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Virginia Stage Company
and Chrysler Museum by offering professional dance and education to
fill a void
in the tapestry of Hampton Roads' cultural fabric.
Virginia Ballet Theatre
strives to provide a tradition of excellence that Hampton Roads deserves
by enriching the community and the Arts
with Professional Dance and Dance Education.
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Frank
& Janina Bove, Directors
134 W. Olney Rd., Norfolk, Virginia 23510
(757) 622-4822