Nashville Ballet

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Nashville Ballet

Nashville Ballet is a professional ballet company in Tennessee. Founded in 1986 and based in Nashville, Tennessee, it presents a repertoire of classic and contemporary works by a variety of choreographers, including Artistic Director Paul Vasterling. [1]

Contents

The company is composed of 32 professional dancers from around the world. NB2, Nashville Ballet's official second Company, prepares aspiring dancers for a mainstage career through intensive training and performance opportunities.

History

Performances

Nashville Ballet presents five to seven mainstage performances each year. [16] The company performs at and is the resident ballet company at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in downtown Nashville.

Nashville Ballet has performed at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in 2017 [12] and at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY in 2018. [17] The company has performed internationally in Basel, Switzerland, [6] and Buenos Aires, Argentina. [7] In the spring of 2022, the company will tour Paul Vasterling’s Lucy Negro Redux to Denver, Colorado, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Kansas City, Missouri, and Norfolk, Virginia. [16]

The company presents a variety of classical and contemporary works each season. [16] Past repertory includes works by Salvatore Aiello, Jennifer Archibald, George Balanchine, Christopher Bruce, Val Caniparoli, Jiří Kylián, José Limón, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Christopher Stuart, Twyla Tharp, Christopher Wheeldon, and more. [18]

Nashville Ballet collaborates with musicians across all genres for live performances. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Paul Vasterling, Nashville Ballet has commissioned 22 original scores for brand-new ballets. [5] The Nashville Symphony accompanies each of Nashville Ballet’s classical productions. For contemporary works, they have worked with musicians such as Ben Folds, Maren Morris, Rayland Baxter, Louis York, Sugar + The Hi-Lows, Sheryl Crow, 10 Out of Tenn, Guy Clark, Shannon Sanders, and Lockeland Strings. [18]

Vasterling’s 2019 Lucy Negro Redux in collaboration with Rhiannon Giddens examined themes of otherness, equality, and self-worth; it was dubbed a “Nashville miracle” by The New York Times. [13]

Education and Community Engagement

School of Nashville Ballet provides dance education for children, youth, and adults for ages 2–70. [19] The school aims to focus on development, inclusivity, and excellence in dance by teaching the fundamental foundation of classical ballet. [8] The Community Engagement Program brings arts education to more than 50,000 individuals each year. [20] The company visits schools, libraries, parks and community centers to introduce new audiences to dance. [21] The Martin Center for Nashville Ballet currently serves as a home for their professional dancers, students, and administrative offices. [22]

Artists

Artistic Director

Nick Mullikin who joined Nashville Ballet in 2015 was officially named Artistic Director, succeeding, Paul Vasterling who is a nationally acclaimed choreographer and former Nashville Ballet Company dancer and has been with the organization since 1988.

Company dancers

There are thirty one full-time professional dancers, recruited through annual auditions. As of August, 2025:

Company Members

  • Justin Abel
  • Elisabeth Baehman
  • Joshua Binowitz
  • Celeste Borman
  • Kennedy Brown
  • Michael Burfield
  • Shaiya Donohue
  • Will Giannuzzi
  • Anneliese Guerin
  • Jamie Kopit
  • James Lankford
  • Garritt McCabe
  • Claudia Monja
  • Maia Montgomery
  • Jack Owen
  • Jorge Emilio Peña
  • Sarah Pierce
  • Nicholas Posluszny
  • Lily Saito
  • Brett Sjoblom
  • Marissa Stark
  • Farin Taft
  • Autumn Tierney
  • Colette Tilinski
  • Jasmine Wheeler

Company Apprentices

  • Graham E. Barnes
  • Summer Brown
  • Nicholas Mihlar
  • Summer Montenegro
  • Joe Parker
  • Gwyneth Smith

Music director

In 2022, Nashville Ballet named frequent guest conductor Ming Luke as music director and principal conductor.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Life behind barres: Dancing into the hearts of Middle Tennessee with the Nashville Ballet". WHNT. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  2. "Dance Companies". Tennessee Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  3. "Ballet Ball Celebrates 30 Years of Excellence in Dance". Tennessean. Retrieved 20 December 2021.[ dead link ]
  4. "Weathering Storms". Nashville Scene . Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Paul Vasterling". The Center for Ballet and the Arts. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 "Nashville Ballet History". Nashville Ballet. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Nashville Ballet Presents Salsa Dreams". Hispanic Nashville. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Nashville's Nutcracker Returns, Mixing Young Dancers and Professionals". Tennessean. Retrieved 20 December 2021.[ dead link ]
  9. "Carmina Burana". Nashville Arts. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 "Nashville Ballet Receives Record Setting Gift". Tennessean. Retrieved 20 December 2021.[ dead link ]
  11. "Nashville Ballet Launches Men's Scholarship Program". Pointe Magazine. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  12. 1 2 "Nashville Ballet Takes Ben Folds Project to Prestigious Kennedy Center". Tennessean. Retrieved 20 December 2021.[ dead link ]
  13. 1 2 "A Nashville Miracle". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  14. "Nashville Ballet to Present Televised Premiere of Nashville's Nutcracker". Tennessean. Retrieved 20 December 2021.[ dead link ]
  15. "Emmy Award Nominated Nashville's Nutcracker to Return to NewsChannel 5 this Holiday Season". Visit Music City. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  16. 1 2 3 "Nashville Ballet Schedule 2021-2022 Season". Tennessean. Retrieved 20 December 2021.[ dead link ]
  17. "Nashville Ballet, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra Collaboration, Match Made in Amphitheater Heaven". The Chautauquan Daily. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  18. 1 2 "Past Repertory". Nashville Ballet. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  19. "The Most Fun Workout You've Never Tried". StyleBluePrint. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  20. "Nashville Ballet". Visit Music City. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  21. "Nashville Ballet Helping Teachers Navigate New Demands of Hybrid Learning". Dance Informa Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  22. "Nashville Ballet Studio A". Now Playing Nashville. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.