BIO:
ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS
Oregon Ballet Theatre's many programs reached over 145,000 members of the community last year.
PERFORMANCES
We produce a five-program season at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, with four productions in the Keller Auditorium and one in the Newmark Theatre of the PCPA. Last year OBT reached nearly 70,000 audience members from all walks of life - from low-income school students attending at $2 a ticket, to a loyal base of returning subscribers. Our primary base is the tri-county metro area (Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington) but our audiences and donors span many states and regions. Tickets prices start at $17, in an effort to keep productions affordable for our community.
EDUCATION & OUTREACH
OBT's Education and Outreach (EdOut) programming focuses on student learning through experience: observation, participation, and reflection. We offer 11 programs that aim to illuminate dance and its relation to other arts and academic subjects. Last season we impacted over 27,000 people, including nearly 10,000 schoolchildren, in the Portland Metro area and beyond, in communities such as Bend, Eugene, Hood River, Camas, and Washougal. While we do not track specific demographics, the majority of our programs serve schools with over 50% participation in the free or reduced-rate lunch program, a common barometer of the socio-economic status of schools and districts.
THE SCHOOL OF OBT
OBT’s award-winning ballet school is recognized as one of the best in the country, providing high-quality ballet education for students from age 4 to high school. We served over 500 students last year. Many OBT company members began their careers at the School of OBT. 23 SOBT students currently attend on need-based scholarships, at nearly every level of the school. Alumni of SOBT currently dance at OBT, American Ballet Theatre, Tulsa Ballet, Arizona Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Nevada Ballet, and Israeli Ballet.
ARTIST DEVELOPMENT & COLLABORATIONS
OBT proudly supports and nurtures the work of up-and-coming artists. In 2010 our Choreographer’s Institute brought two emerging choreographers to the studios for residencies; North Carolina native Emery LeCrone was in residence in December 2009 and spring 2010 to produce a work called “Divergence,” which appeared in our spring 2010 DUETS program, while Portland- and New York-based choreographer Benjamin Ford Asriel was in residency in October 2010 to work on an exploratory movement-based piece with three of our company members. Our recent program THE STRAVINSKY PROJECT included a world premiere collaboration between OBT and two local contemporary dance companies, BodyVox and Rumpus Room Dance. We are also including a new work in the 2011-2012 season by up-and-coming choreographer Matjash Mrozewski.
COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING
OBT is committed to attracting new audiences through innovative off-campus programming; last year such efforts reached an estimated 15,000 Oregonians of all ages. We host an annual free outdoor arts festival called Fall.Art.Live, which provides a venue for local arts organizations to perform and to promote their upcoming seasons. An estimated 2,500 people of all ages attended in September 2010, and nearly 20 local arts organizations took part.
General information
OBT was founded in 1989. Under founding Artistic Director James Canfield, a former principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet, OBT developed a unique repertoire and distinctive style. With a firm foundation in classical technique, the company's dance inventory grew to comprise over 80 ballets including evening-length classics, 20th-century masterpieces and innovative contemporary works.
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