Stanton Welch is celebrating his 20th-anniversary season as artistic director of Houston Ballet. But last year, he decided it was the time to restructure the job. In July, Julie Kent joined Welch as co-director of the company, bringing with her the wealth of experience from her 30-year dance career at American Ballet Theatre and her […]
Houston Ballet first soloist Nozomi Iijima transformed into a Zen goddess in the pas de deux for Stanton Welch’s Just, commissioned specially for Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in August. Partnered by Chun Wai Chan, Iijima moved as if in a dream state, casting a deliciously hypnotic spell. It was as if she was literally pouring […]
This story originally appeared in the June/July 2016 issue of Pointe. With his new production of Giselle, Houston Ballet artistic director Stanton Welch continues his charge through history, updating the classical warhorses for modern audiences. He has already completed versions of Paquita, La Bayadère and, most recently, 2015’s Romeo and Juliet, which he restructured to […]
Stanton Welch has transformed Houston Ballet into a leading force in the dance world. A rtistic director Stanton Welch looks at home in Houston Ballet’s airy new Center for Dance. The windows of his office frame views of Houston’s tangled highways, the winding inner city river known as the bayou and the majestic Wortham Theater […]
In our August/September issue, Pointe asked a handful of directors what they feel is missing from pre-professional training today. The group found many holes—from a lack of professionalism to a need for more articulate pointework. Here, Houston Ballet artistic director Stanton Welch offers his view. There are definitely companies in the world that are […]
The past few weeks have brought another exciting round of ballet career news—check out the latest farewells, appointments, promotions, and more in your March 2025 roster roundup. Promotions and Appointments New York City Ballet has named former soloist Gilbert Bolden III as its newest principal dancer. Former apprentice Becket Jones has moved up to the […]
Despite starting his training later than most, Skylar Campbell rose to become a principal dancer, first at the National Ballet of Canada, where he began his career, and then at Houston Ballet, which he joined in 2022 with his wife, Jaclyn Oakley. Here, he reflects on being open to timing, the lessons of the stage, […]
When Houston Ballet artistic director Stanton Welch commissioned corps de ballet member Jindallae Bernard to choreograph an original work for the company in 2022, she had been a member of the company for less than a year. The ballet—Parodie de l’histoire du ballet—premiered in December 2023 to buoyant reviews. “I had goosebumps all over my body,” Bernard […]