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 […]
Ballet West principal Katlyn Addison knows how to draw on different aspects of her artistry to assume the essence of every role. As the Firebird, energy emanates from her limbs, encasing the stage in her glow. As Juliet, she taps into a sweet shyness, her movements wrenchingly tender. And in William Forsythe’s Blake Works I, […]
Watching Amy Fote navigate the sweeping contours of Stanton Welch’s The Four Seasons, one would never guess it’s been a decade since she donned a pair of pointe shoes. The former Houston Ballet principal, now a company ballet master, returns to the stage this month at age 51 to dance the “Winter” section of Welch’s […]
The past few weeks have brought another exciting round of dancer career news—check out the latest farewells, appointments, promotions, and more in this month’s ballet roster roundup. Promotions and Appointments On May 16, New York City Ballet artistic director Jonathan Stafford and associate artistic director Wendy Whelan announced the promotion of Emma Von Enck to […]