Houston Ballet Sylvia Program 40502

HoustonBallet Vol. 4, Issue 4

Pretty Things May 20-29, 2022

Tickets on sale now, starting at $25!

ONE|end|ONE JORMA ELO Hush CHRISTOPHER BRUCE Pretty Things TREY MCINTYRE

Production underwriting by Allison and Troy Thacker

houstonballet.org | 713.227.2787 (ARTS)

Dreaming of a place in the country?

Alison Sewell 832-428-8970 alison.sewell@compass.com alisonsewell.com

Alison Sewell is a real estate agent affiliated with Compass. Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by federal, state and local Equal Housing Opportunity laws.

April 8-10, 2022 NRG Center

Shop for spring and summer!

Discount tickets available for $18 at Ticketmaster.com starting March 14. Tickets are $20 at the Market.

Proceeds benefit Houston Ballet Foundation, its Academy and scholarship programs.

NUTCRACKERMARKET.COM

Leading Orthopedic Care to

KEEP THE BALLET MOVING At Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, we are experts in helping the body do what it was designed to do — stay in motion. As trusted doctors for Houston Ballet, we keep the dancers performing in the spotlight. And, by finding innovative ways to treat their injuries, we’re better able to treat yours. Whether you’re getting back on the stage or back to work, we use the latest technology and advanced therapies to get you back on your feet — and keep you moving.

713.790.3333 | houstonmethodist.org 19 convenient locations

SYLVIA

CONTENTS

11

FIRST POSITION Comparing and contrasting Sylvia’s leading couples; a closer look at the otherworldly Sylvia set; a Q&A with celebrated projection designer Wendall K. Harrington

15

UPLIFT Think you know Sylvia?

Put your knowledge to the test in this matching quiz!

17

SYLVIA Here you’ll find a QR code to the latest casting plus information on the artists behind Sylvia

31

ÉTOILE

Soloist Alyssa Springer. Photo by Amitava Sarkar

Meet the visionary leaders investing in Houston Ballet’s world-class performances and programs

IN THIS ISSUE 8 Welcome Letter 24 Company Profiles 30 Board of Trustees 36 Annual Supporters 41 Special Events 42 In the Wings HOUSTON BALLET

7

Houston Ballet 601 Preston Street, Houston, TX 77002 713.523.6300 info@houstonballet.org www.houstonballet.org Stanton Welch AM Artistic Director James Nelson Executive Director Ben Stevenson OBE Artistic Director Emeritus

PUBLISHED BY Houston Ballet

Welcome

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS Jasmine Fuller Cane DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR Kate Wood PROJECT STAFF Lynn Chung, Tory Lieberman, Jared Murphy ADVERTISING SALES Ventures Marketing Group Matt Ross

HoustonBallet Vol. 4, Issue 4

VOL. 4, ISSUE 4 2022

HOUSTON BALLET

See you in the theater,

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS Angela Lee

Sylvia

8

conveying scene changes, allowing our company to frequently switch between Sylvia’s three storylines to tell this epic tale.

I want to thank our generous underwriters and cherished friends, Phoebe and Bobby Tudor. The Tudors are longtime supporters of the Ballet, with Phoebe currently serving on our Board of Trustees. Their dedication to expanding Houston Ballet’s repertoire has elevated our company and allowed us to create original works like Sylvia.

I also want to thank you, our patrons, for your unwavering support of Houston Ballet. Your support is vital to our success as a company, and we are delighted to be performing for you tonight. I hope you find tonight’s performance of Sylvia both moving and magical.

HoustonBallet

Dear Houston Ballet friends, Welcome to tonight’s otherworldly performance of Sylvia! Inspired by ageold themes of Greek mythology, Sylvia promises romance, drama and deceit.

This ethereal production chronicles the journeys of three powerful women, each striving to find happiness and purpose.

Complemented by their partners, these leading ladies drive the story through all its trials and tragedies, learning to balance love and independence along the way.

One of the most enchanting aspects of this production is the evocative score

by Léo Delibes. Melodies, both powerful and delicate, accompany Houston Ballet’s talented artists as they dance through the story. I have been delighted by this soundtrack since I was a child and creating a ballet around this familiar music has made Sylvia even more meaningful to me.

In addition to Delibes’ score, unique elements of production join our artists onstage. Sylvia features the work of celebrated costume and set designer Jérôme Kaplan, along with our resident lighting expert Lisa J. Pinkham. Stunning projections by Wendall K. Harrington replace a traditional backdrop in

CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER Angela Lane

STANTON WELCH AM Houston Ballet Artistic Director

Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch. Photo by Charles Ford

ON THE COVER Principals Karina González and Connor Walsh.

Photo by Amitava Sarkar

FIRST

POSITION

Artists of Houston Ballet. Photo by Amitava Sarkar

SPOTLIGHT p. 12

|

ANATOMY OF A SCENE p. 13

Written in the Stars Comparing and contrasting Sylvia’s leading couples as they take different paths towards the same desire: eternal bliss with their romantic counterparts

By Kate Wood

|

EN POINTE p. 14

THE ETHEREAL WORLD OF SYLVIA follows three central couples on their respective journeys to find happiness. At first, these storylines seem separate; they differ in many aspects as each pair faces individual challenges. In the end, however, all three stories are woven into one complete ballet through their shared hope of finding lasting love in this otherworldly tale, choreographed by

|

UPLIFT p. 15

Artistic Director Stanton Welch AM. Perhaps the most traditional ballet romance is that of Psyche and Eros.

They fall in love at first sight, and their story is sprinkled with comedic moments as Eros, a god, learns to navigate a relationship with a mortal and her family. Psyche’s mortality is a fundamental difference between her and Eros, one also faced by Sylvia and the Shepherd, which can be HOUSTON BALLET

11

FIRST POSITION

spotted in the movements between mortals and immortals. According to Welch, “The gods walk slower, and their steps are more deliberate, like watching a cat walk. The humans walk heavily through the heel of their foot.” This dissimilarity becomes a conflict when, in spite of their fairytale beginning, Psyche betrays Eros, and the two must overcome this broken trust as their relationship complicates in a single moment. Both Psyche and Eros go to great lengths to show the depths of their devotion, and their story has a happy ending as Psyche becomes a demigod and the two live out their days together.

In contrast to the more conventional romance of Psyche and Eros is the tragedy of Artemis and Orion. Artemis, the fearless leader of a tribe of female warriors, has sworn off romance and dedicated herself to her army. She is characterized by her strength and resilience; she and Sylvia have both sacrificed a traditional

lifestyle for one of commitment to the warrior life shown through their powerful movements onstage.

“They’re hunters; they’re warriors,” Welch explains. “They need to look capable. When they’re holding a sword, it’s a threat.”

Artemis, though fully devoted to her career, also loves her counterpart Orion. “Their love is friendship based, but they never get to be together, and that’s the tragedy of their story,” says Welch. “Zeus brings them together, but not on Earth.” Lacking a traditional happy ending, Artemis and Orion can only be reunited in the stars while the other pairs live out their days in earthly happiness.

Sylvia and the Shepherd’s relationship bridges all three stories while introducing new elements of their own. Their tale features comedy with a new twist as Sylvia relentlessly chases the Shepherd while under a spell. “In ballet, it’s rare that the female is leading all the steps and

movements,” says Welch. “It was a challenge, but not in a negative way.”

When the spell is broken, it introduces a more contemporary challenge as Sylvia must learn to prioritize both the love she has with the Shepherd and her life as a warrior.

“Out of the spell, she wants her job, her life. She has to decide. It’s taking her on a more modern feminine journey,” Welch says. Ultimately, Sylvia successfully balances her new lifestyle and loves the Shepherd for all eternity as he, like Psyche, is turned into a demigod.

As the ballet progresses, these three storylines intertwine and are united by their mutual desire of achieving happiness through love. Both Psyche and the Shepherd become demigods, and although they can’t be together in a literal sense, Artemis and Orion reunite in the constellations. “It’s a different type of love,” Welch says, “but they’re each learning, developing and overcoming.”

SPOTLIGHT

Phoebe & Bobby Tudor

Longtime friends, leaders, and Sylvia underwriters – Phoebe Tudor gives us the inside scoop on supporting Sylvia, her favorite Sylvia scene, and hopes for future new works.

On supporting a new mythological work: Stanton had wanted to create Sylvia for a very long time. He had this great score and enchanting story in mind, and it just seemed like the perfect vehicle for our dancers, particularly the women. To me, Sylvia is a more modern version of a story ballet, and the excitement and fun of the ballet really drew us in.

On future new works: While I love abstract ballets, I think Stanton is brilliant at storytelling – in my opinion, that’s his forte – and our company has so many dancers who are great at acting and can absorb audiences into a story. We should play to those strengths. We should really be so happy that Stanton can take on big stories and make full length ballets. There are few choreographers who can tackle something big and ambitious like that. Stanton can really do it and do it so well. But who knows what Stanton has up his sleeve!

12

HOUSTON BALLET

Phoebe and BobbyTudor. Photo by Wilson Parish

On Sylvia’s modern spin: Stanton uses characters and themes from Greek mythology and gives them new life in a modern day telling, which I love, and one way this is done is in Wendall K. Harrington’s projection design. The ending in particular stands out to me when the stage is swallowed with projections of stars.

The use of projections is a very cool and forward looking way to take stage design.

FIRST POSITION PIECING IT TOGETHER Framing the Sylvia stage is a beige, textured draping made from painted muslin backed by steel and wood to help maintain its shape. This draping is layered at each wing, making the stage visually narrow; the layers towards the front of the stage are made from two long strips of muslin pieced together, while the smaller layers towards the back are one continual piece.

SEEING STARS Stunning projections by Wendall K. Harrington are the perfect complement to the simplicity of Sylvia’s set. The scenes flow effortlessly between the many worlds of Sylvia, each projection adding depth and beauty to the story unfolding in front of it. “Houston Ballet is one of the leaders in supporting brave new visual work,” Harrington explains.

HIDDEN HELPERS Sylvia’s large staircases seem to glide across the stage with ease. However, hatches on the top of each staircase allow crew members to climb inside each staircase. “When the dancers are pushing, they’re doing the directional guiding, but the brute force is coming from stagehands inside the staircases,” de los Reyes reveals.

GO WITH THE FLOW These tall, sleek staircases are hard to miss. “Each staircase is curved to be either concave or convex, which gives you a different directional flow to a scene,” de los Reyes explains. “It can feel enclosed, or it can feel like it’s opening up.”

This flexibility allows for myriad scene changes throughout the ballet.

ANATOMY OF A SCENE

Elegance in Simplicity How Sylvia’s set tells a complicated story with an understated, powerful design

Artists of Houston Ballet. Photo by Amitava Sarkar

By Kate Wood

WHEN IT COMES TO SET DESIGN for Stanton Welch’s Sylvia, Head of Production Michelle de los Reyes thinks the beauty is in the simplicity. While many productions feature an abundance of props and backdrops, set designer Jérôme Kaplan uses combinations of the same four staircases surrounded by a neutral, layered draping. “I love that we’ve pared down and gone really simple with Sylvia, and yet the world is so rich, and the scenes are so diverse,” says de los Reyes. “It takes you to whichever location is required through

such simple means.”

In tandem with projections by Wendall K. Harrington, Sylvia’s set tells a long, detailed story through a simple yet effective design. Scenes change right before audiences’ eyes in a matter of seconds, simply by moving the staircases and changing the projections.

“There’s a lot of dynamic worlds you can create with the combination of the movement and the projections,” de los Reyes observes. “It gave creative flexibility to Jérôme and Stanton, to figure out what they wanted the scene

to feel like and how to create that with these minimal pieces.”

The set’s earth-toned simplicity allows the audience to focus on the story and the dancing before them; in Harrington’s opinion, that’s important for a set. “In the last few years…audiences are seemingly more interested in larger visual spectacles,” says Harrington. “My job as a designer is to support that desire by never looking away from the expression of the music that can be found in a dancer’s body.”

HOUSTON BALLET

13

FIRST POSITION

DIVINE INSPIRATION Projection designer Wendall K. Harrington cites the following artists as her inspiration for Sylvia

Projection testing on the Sylvia set model. Photo by Colleen Templeton

1. ROCKWELL KENT (1882-1971) Harrington referenced Kent’s linear paintings for the Gods’ world. The American artist, often inspired by his travel to rural landscapes, is most well known for his illustrations for Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.

2. PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER (1525–1569) Dutch painter Bruegel inspired the lush mortal world in Sylvia. Bruegel is credited as a formative influence on Dutch Golden Age painting. The Hunters in the Snow, pictured above, is one of his most notable works.

Another inspiration for the thick, natural mortal world in Sylvia, Ruisdael is considered the preeminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age. The Jewish Cemetery is among his most notable works.

14

HOUSTON BALLET

Projecting Greatness Projection designs in Sylvia lend to the ethereal and modern quality of Stanton Welch’s mythological ballet. Projection Designer Wendall K. Harrington gives insight into her design process for Sylvia.

For Sylvia, how did you get from the drawing board to execution?

We met with the [set] model in Houston some months before we had to put it onstage, and we tested ideas with a small projector and tossed ideas around. For me, the coldness inherent in the idea of stone needed to be overcome when we were on ‘earth,’ yet we were still in a metaphorical space.

Projection itself is metaphorical… which is what I love about projection.

I lie for a living, so what would these lies be made up of? I fell into the deep vat of allegorical paintings… so pretty much what you see as landscape is me building scenes out of branches and trees of [artists] Bruegel and Ruisdael and the like, then applying them to the various shapes that were made by the stair units.

So, I build a catalog of deconstructed images and then mix them up and reapply [to the set], with the help of my terrific programmer Paul Vershbow, who has for over 20 years learned to interpret what I see in my heart.

Building images on multiple planes is not easy. I have no talent for it, but Paul is playing literal 3-dimensional chess, and it looks like it was always this way.

Which of course is the goal – no one should ever see the effort.

The distinction of the god and mortal worlds can be seen in the projections in Sylvia. What elements of the projections are distinguishing these worlds apart?

The gods are given more to the stone, and the humans to a more vegetal reality. But then of course they interact, and decisions must be made. I think color greens and blues are more obviously earthy than the golds and yellows attributed to the gods, but really it is Stanton’s choreography that does the heavy lifting.

Is there a scene that stands out to you as one of your favorites or fun to design?

I do love the waterfall as it looks so real and trying to work out the splashing and such. But for sheer beauty and choreographic collaboration, I love going to hell with Psyche. The images of her walk through the underworld I find beautiful; they are unlike anything else, and I feel they are emotionally specific.

Did you face any challenges?

The challenges are always time and light. “We glow in the dark” is the motto of projections, so balancing for color and brightness as well as illumination of the dancers is always a challenge as it takes time to achieve perfection; and time, well it’s just never enough.

Moonlight, Winter by Rockwell Kent. Sharon Mollerus, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons The Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The Jewish Cemetery by Jacob van Ruisdael. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

3. JACOB VAN RUISDAEL (1629-1682)

EN POINTE

FIRST POSITION

It’s a Match!

UPLIFT

LEA D ING L ADY

LOV E

V ILL A IN

ARTEMIS

EROS

ALPHEUS

PSYCHE

ORION

APHRODITE

S Y LV I A

THE SHEPHERD

APOLLO

Answers: Sylvia - The Shepherd - Alpheus | Artemis - Orion - Apollo | Psyche - Eros - Aphrodite

Sketches by Jérôme Kaplan

Three stories intertwine to tell one epic tale, but can you keep the characters straight?

Put your Sylvia knowledge to the test by matching the leading lady to the love and villain of their story.

HOUSTON BALLET

15

f

you are looking to centralize your business affairs with a corporate fiduciary,

1then3

let’s get started.

Trusts & Estates | Investments & Assets | Family Office | Foundations

houstontrust.com | 713-651-9400

SYNOPSIS p. 18

|

CHARACTER GUIDE p. 20

|

THE ARTISTS p. 21

SYLVIA

Generously underwritten by Phoebe & Bobby Tudor

Principals Melody Mennite and Charles-Louis Yoshiyama. Photo by Amitava Sarkar

MARCH 10 - MARCH 20, 2022

This performance lasts approximately two hours and twenty minutes.

“All in all, Sylvia soars.

Go see it.”

There will be two intermissions lasting twenty and fifteen minutes, respectively.

For casting, scan the QR code.

- HOUSTON CHRONICLE

THE WORTHAM FOUNDATION, INC. HOUSTON BALLET

17

SYNOPSIS

Choreography by Stanton Welch AM For Mark Music by Léo Delibes Costume and Scenic Design by Jérôme Kaplan Lighting Design by Lisa J. Pinkham Projection Design by Wendall K. Harrington Houston Ballet Orchestra conducted

by Ermanno Florio and Jonathan McPhee World Premiere: February 21, 2019

by Houston Ballet in the Brown Theater at Wortham Theater Center in Houston, TX

ACT I ARTEMIS We open on a battlefield where the twin gods, Artemis and Apollo, slay Queen Niobe’s army in revenge for a slight to their mother, Leto. Zeus, the twins’ father, arrives from Olympus with Leto to congratulate them. He favors Apollo which makes Artemis unhappy, so her dear friend Orion comforts her. Eros, son of the love goddess Aphrodite, teases them. Artemis shoots arrows in Eros’ direction and leaves with Orion to hunt. Apollo, who is used to being everyone’s favorite, is jealous of the bond between Artemis and Orion. To spite Artemis, he seduces Callisto, one of the nymphs in her army. Artemis and Orion revel in each other’s company, but when her army arrives, she must bid Orion farewell. As Artemis and her army are preparing to hunt, Callisto 18

HOUSTON BALLET

and Apollo arrive. Callisto claims she has been attacked. Artemis is furious and wants to kill the attacker. Apollo points off in the distance, but Artemis cannot see who it is. Apollo guides her, and Artemis’ arrow finds Orion. He dies in her arms. Artemis realizes she has been tricked. Apollo escapes her wrath, but, in revenge for her loss, Artemis turns Callisto into a bear. Showing none of the pain she feels, Artemis gathers her retinue and leaves. When she finds herself alone, she breaks down as she remembers her friend Orion. Her army returns, and she seizes command of her emotions.

PSYCHE Eros is plotting his revenge on Artemis for shooting an arrow at him when Iris, messenger to the gods, arrives with news from his mother. A young mortal girl, Psyche, has surpassed her in beauty. Iris shows Aphrodite a vision of Psyche walking in the forest.

Enraged, she sends her son to kill

Psyche. Instead, Eros, dressed as a mortal and disguised by a mask, falls in love with her, and she with him. As Psyche and her family prepare for her wedding to Eros, her sisters encourage her to look under his mask, but she has promised him she will not. Eros arrives in his disguise and the two are married.

While she is in bed with Eros, Psyche’s curiosity gets the best of her, and she looks under his mask. The oil from her lamp burns Eros and awakens him.

Feeling betrayed, he leaves her. The distraught Psyche runs to her family, and they advise her to go to Aphrodite.

She does, and Aphrodite promises to help her.

SYLVIA The arrival of Artemis and her army of nymphs disturbs a melancholy Shepherd who is resting in a clearing.

When the army continues their journey, only one, Sylvia, stays behind because her heart is not in it. Sylvia removes her armor to bathe, and Eros, who has

Artists of Houston Ballet. Photo by Amitava Sarkar

THREE WOMEN. TWO WORLDS. ONE EPIC STORY OF LOVE.

SYNOPSIS

been spying on her, casts a spell that will make her fall in love with the first person she sees. The Shepherd returns, and when Sylvia sees him, she falls madly in love. They depart, leaving her armor behind. Alpheus, an evil River God, sees that she is vulnerable and summons his henchmen. Sylvia and the Shepherd, now deeply in love, are captured by Alpheus and his River Gang. They knock the Shepherd unconscious and abduct Sylvia. The Shepherd wakes and devises a plan for her rescue.

ACT II Sylvia is left alone in Alpheus’ lair. The Shepherd breaks into her cell, bringing her armor and sword. When Alpheus and his gang return, she fights them all, finally cornering Alpheus, who escapes by melting into water.

Meanwhile, Aphrodite tells Psyche about her plan to get Eros back. Psyche must travel to Prosperina, Queen of the Underworld, to retrieve a box.

Prosperina makes her promise not to look in the box, but Psyche gives in to her curiosity and opens it. Poisoned, she falls down dead. Psyche’s family is desperately calling for help. Eros enters and knows that only an Olympian can bring Psyche back to life. He sees Sylvia and begs her to call on Artemis.

Although Sylvia fears the goddess will be angry at her for running off with the Shepherd, she agrees. Artemis arrives and is indeed furious with Sylvia for her betrayal and threatens to kill the Shepherd. Eros admits that he cast a love spell on Sylvia. He removes it, and Sylvia returns to Artemis’ army of nymphs. Eros asks Artemis to spare the Shepherd’s life. She agrees, and a heartbroken Shepherd bids a sad farewell to Sylvia. Artemis turns her focus back to Psyche and brings her back to life. The reunited lovers rush off to celebrate. Sylvia stays behind.

Realizing that she still has feelings for the Shepherd, she pleads with Artemis to release her from the army and let her

be with her love. Artemis agrees; Sylvia leaves to find the Shepherd.

ACT III At a celebration of Psyche and Eros’ love, Zeus blesses them and makes Psyche a Demi-God, ensuring they can be together for all of eternity.

Sylvia finds the Shepherd on his farm and joins him in the simple life.

They marry and have children, then grandchildren. The Shepherd grows old. Feeling the end approach, he rests in Sylvia’s arms, remembering their happiness. Eros returns with Psyche and, as a final gift to Sylvia, transforms the Shepherd into a Demi-God. Everyone exults in the Shepherd and Sylvia’s, and Eros and Psyche’s immortal lives and love.

Artemis confronts Apollo in front of the other Gods. They battle, but Zeus stops them and asks everyone but Artemis to go. He recognizes his daughter’s pain and reunites Artemis and Orion in the heavens for all eternity.

HOUSTON BALLET

19

CHARACTER GUIDE

W H O ’ S W H O ? A G U I D E T O S Y LV I A’ S L E A D I N G L A D I E S Olympians, demi-gods, and mortals intertwine to tell the love stories of leading ladies Sylvia, Artemis, and Psyche, but how do we tell them apart? Award winning costume and scenic designer Jérôme Kaplan uses color in costumes and lighting to expertly differentiate between beings and story lines. Watch out for these colors to tell you who’s who.

Olympians Demi-gods

Golds Silvers

Mortals

Whites

Story

Blues

Story

Pinks

Love The Shepherd

Love Orion

Love Eros

After hunting with Artemis’ army, warrior Sylvia leaves her magic armor and weapons behind to bathe, but she is struck by Eros’ love arrow leaving her vulnerable to love a nearby Shepherd and vulnerable to capture by the evil River God Alpheus.

Artemis turns to her friend Orion for comfort when her parents, Zeus and Leto, favor her twin brother Apollo. Jealous of Artemis and Orion’s relationship, Apollo uses a nymph from Artemis’ army to trick Artemis into killing Orion.

Aphrodite sends her son Eros to punish Psyche for being more beautiful than her. But when Eros sees Psyche, he falls in love with her and proposes. Shortly after they’re married, Psyche breaks Eros’ trust, and must gain it back by retrieving a box from the Underworld for Aphrodite.

HOUSTON BALLET

Sketches by Jérôme Kaplan

20

P SYC H E Mortal

ARTEMIS Olympian

S Y LV I A Demi-god Story

Earthtones

THE ARTISTS

Artist Profiles STANTON WELCH AM Choreographer In July 2003, Australian Stanton Welch AM assumed leadership of Houston Ballet, America’s fifth-largest classical ballet company. Since he took the helm of the company, Mr. Welch has revitalized Houston Ballet, bringing in new dancers, commissioning new works, and attracting a top-flight artistic staff. Mr. Welch has created works for such prestigious international companies as Houston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Australian Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet.

Mr. Welch was born in Melbourne to Marilyn Jones OBE and Garth Welch AM, two of Australia’s most gifted dancers of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1989, he was engaged as a dancer with The Australian Ballet, where he rose to the rank of leading soloist, performing various principal roles.

He has also worked with internationally acclaimed choreographers such as Jiří Kylián, Nacho Duato, and Maurice Bejart.

In 1995, Mr. Welch was named resident choreographer of The Australian Ballet.

For his contributions to the world of dance, he was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) in June 2015. For Houston Ballet, he has choreographed more than 20 works, including a new full-length narrative ballet Marie (2009), inspired by the life of the legendary Marie Antoinette, and spectacular stagings of Swan Lake (2006), La Bayadère (2010), Romeo and Juliet (2015), Giselle (2016), The Nutcracker (2016), and Sylvia (2019).

JÉRÔME KAPLAN Costume and Scenic Designer Born in Paris, Jérôme Kaplan studied Scenography at L’Ecole de la Rue Blanche.

In 1992, he collaborated with Ballets de Monte Carlo and Jean-Christophe Maillot on L’Enfant et les Sortilèges and has since designed sets and costumes for Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, Casse-Noisette Circus, Eye for Eye, and Scheherazade. In 2001, Jérôme Kaplan became the first French scenographer invited to work with the National Ballet of China in Beijing, where he created costumes for Raise the Red Lantern staged by director Zhang Yimou.

Jérôme Kaplan has worked extensively with

Bertrand d’At on The Prince of Pagodas (Opera of Strasbourg), In the Mood for Love (Ballet of Shanghai with Karine Sporta), Feu le Music Hall (Comédie-Française), and In the Night Look (Opera of Cairo). He has also worked with David Nixon on Northern Ballet’s Ondine, A Sleeping Beauty Tale, and The Great Gatsby; and with Alexei Ratmansky on Don Quixote (Dutch National Ballet), the world premiere of Lost Illusions (Bolshoi Ballet) for which he won a Golden Mask Award in 2012 for costume design, Cinderella (The Australian Ballet), Paquita (Bavarian State Ballet), Swan Lake (Zürich Ballet in coproduction with Teatro alla Scala), Serenade After Plato’s Symposium (American Ballet Theatre), and The Fairy’s Kiss (Miami City Ballet). Other recent ballet work includes: Christopher Wheeldon’s The Sleeping Beauty, Kermesse in Bruges for the Royal Ballet of Denmark with Ib Anderson, and The Nutcracker for Mikhailovsky Ballet with Nacho Duato, Teatro alla Scala, and Deutsche Oper Berlin.

LISA J. PINKHAM Lighting Designer Lisa J. Pinkham has designed lighting for over 200 ballets, operas, and plays. Her lighting can be seen in the repertories of many national companies. She enjoys a successful relationship with Stanton Welch AM, and has designed the lighting for many of his ballets, including Maninyas, Taiko, Tu Tu, and Falling for San Francisco Ballet; Madame Butterfly for Boston Ballet and Houston Ballet; Clear for American Ballet Theatre; and Swan Lake, Play, Cinderella, Tapestry, Marie, The Rite of Spring, Sons de L’âme, Paquita, The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Romeo and Juliet, Zodiac, Giselle, The Nutcracker, and Sylvia for Houston Ballet.

WENDALL K. HARRINGTON Projection Designer Wendall K. Harrington designed the projections for Stanton Welch’s Sylvia (2019). She received the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and American Theatre Wing awards for The Who’s Tommy. Her Broadway credits include: All the Way, Grey Gardens, Putting It Together, The Capeman, Ragtime, Company, Driving Miss Daisy, The Will Rogers Follies, The

Heidi Chronicles, My One and Only, and They’re Playing Our Song. Opera: Werther, The Grapes of Wrath, Nixon in China, A View from the Bridge, Rusalka, The Photographer, The Magic Flute.

Ballet: Firebird, Anna Karenina, Seranata Ratmansky, The Fairy’s Kiss with Alexei Ratmansky; Othello (Lubovitch), Don Quixote with Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Mecanique (Varone), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Balanchine). She is the head of the projection design concentration at Yale.

JONATHAN MCPHEE Guest Conductor Jonathan McPhee is currently Music Director Emeritus for Boston Ballet after 29 years as Music Director and is Music Director for the Lexington Symphony.

In addition, he is a guest conductor for New York City Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Sarasota Ballet. McPhee has served as conductor for The Royal Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, National Ballet of Canada, The Australian Ballet, Den Norske Ballet in Norway, and Royal Danish Ballet, among others. During the 20202021 season he was Artist in Residence at Boston University. Mr. McPhee’s works as an arranger and composer are published

by Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. and Schott Music. McPhee’s edition of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and The Firebird are the only authorized reduced orchestrations of these works. His adaption of Wagner’s RING Cycle premiered in 2016 to rave reviews and will soon be available from Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. Mr. McPhee’s recordings of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet, and Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker with the Boston Ballet Orchestra, are available on iTunes. His recording of Michael Gandolfi’s Caution to the Wind is available on the CRI label. McPhee conducted for the films of Martha Graham’s works telecast by DANCE IN AMERICA, including Samuel Barber’s Cave of the Heart, Gian Carlo Menotti’s Errand into the Maze, and Edgard Varese’ Integrales, Offrandes, and Octandre. He received his L.R.A.M. from the Royal Academy of Music and University of London, and a B.M. and M.M. from The Juilliard School.

HOUSTON BALLET

21

THE ARTISTS

Houston Ballet Orchestra Conducted by Ermanno Florio and Jonathan McPhee

FIRST VIOLIN Denise Tarrant*, Concertmaster Rachel Shepard, Assistant Concertmaster Linda Sanders* Sylvia Ver Meulen* Mary Reed* Oleg Sulyga* Chloe Yeseul Kim Hae-a Lee Kana Kimura Mila Neal SECOND VIOLIN Natalie Gaynor, Principal Trung Trinh*, Assistant Principal Elizabeth Frederick* Karen Hall Wilkson* Miriam Belyatsky Feld* Erica Robinson* Melissa Williams Emily Madonia VIOLA Rene Salazar*, Principal Lorento Golofeev*, Assistant Principal Erika Lawson Gayle Garcia-Shepard Meredith Harris Sergein Yap

CELLO Barrett Sills*, Principal Erika Johnson, Assistant Principal Max Dyer* Dave Zeger* Steven Wiggs* Steven Estes* BASS Curry Duffey*, Principal David Connor, Assistant Principal Greg Garcia* Carla Clark* FLUTE Susan Kang, Principal Peggy Russell* Colleen Matheu Johnson* PICCOLO Colleen Matheu Johnson* OBOE Mayu Isom, Principal Katherine Hart

CLARINET Eric Chi, Principal Sean Krissman BASSOON Michael Frederick*, Principal Amanda Swain James Roberson Micah Doherty ALTO SAXOPHONE Masahito Sugihara HORN James Wilson*, Principal Jamie Leff Sarah Cranston* Kevin McIntyre TRUMPET Tetsuya Lawson, Principal Randal Adams George Chase Jason Adams

BASS TROMBONE Brian Logan TUBA Mark Barton*, Principal TIMPANI Alison Chang, Principal PERCUSSION Christina Carroll*, Principal Karen Slotter* Robert McCullagh HARP Joan Eidman*, Principal PIANO Katherine Burkwall-Ciscon* *Houston Ballet Orchestra members who have more than 10 years of service

TROMBONE Thomas Hultén*, Principal Michael Warny*

ENGLISH HORN Katherine Hart

Acknowledgements Special thank you to F&D Scene Changes for the constructing of the sets of Sylvia Special thank you to Andrew Cloud and Sepeda Design and Production for the constructing of the props of Sylvia

The dancers appearing in this performance are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists AFL-CIO

Projection Programmer is Paul Vershbow

Houston Ballet Orchestra members are represented by Houston Professional Musicians Association, Local 65-699, A.F. of M.

Projection Assistant is Joey Moro

Stage Crew personnel are placed by I.A.T.S.E., Local 51

Specialty and additional costumes for Sylvia created by Robert Allsopp, Kaleb Babb, Tom Boyd, Laurie Hunsmann, Barbara JoyceEvans, Katie Smith, Samantha Wollenberg, and Mark Zappone

Wardrobe personnel are placed by I.A.T.S.E., T.W.U. Local 896

General Counsel: Vinson & Elkins, LLP

Touring Representation: IMG Artists

OFFICIAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDER OF HOUSTON BALLET

22

Immigration Attorneys: Foster, LLP

HOUSTON BALLET

OFFICIAL AIRLINE OF HOUSTON BALLET

Houston Ballet is a member of Dance/USA

OFFICIAL TELEVISION PARTNER

OFFICIAL SEASON SPONSOR OF HOUSTON BALLET

Artistic Staff Profiles STANTON WELCH AM The Harris Masterson III Artistic Director In July 2003, Australian Stanton Welch AM assumed leadership of Houston Ballet, America’s fifth-largest classical ballet company. Since he took the helm of the company, Mr. Welch has revitalized Houston Ballet, bringing in new dancers, commissioning new works, and attracting a top-flight artistic staff. Mr. Welch has created works for such prestigious international companies as Houston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Australian Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet. Mr. Welch was born in Melbourne to Marilyn Jones OBE and Garth Welch AM, two of Australia’s most gifted dancers of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1989, he was engaged as a dancer with The Australian Ballet, where he rose to the rank of leading soloist, performing various principal roles. He has also worked with internationally acclaimed choreographers such as Jiří Kylián, Nacho Duato, and Maurice Bejart. In 1995, Mr. Welch was named resident choreographer of The Australian Ballet. For his contributions to the world of dance, he was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) in June 2015. For Houston Ballet, he has choreographed more than 20 works, including a new full-length narrative ballet Marie (2009), inspired by the life of the legendary Marie Antoinette, and spectacular stagings of Swan Lake (2006), La Bayadère (2010), Romeo and Juliet (2015), Giselle (2016), The Nutcracker (2016), and Sylvia (2019).

ERMANNO FLORIO Music Director Ermanno Florio has impressed both audiences and critics in the major centers of Europe, North America, and Asia.

The extremely versatile Mr. Florio has well distinguished himself in genres of symphonic, operatic, and balletic repertoire. Mr. Florio maintains an active conducting schedule that has included extensive engagements with the world’s major ballet companies. In 1985, Mr. Florio was appointed Principal Conductor and Music Administrator of The National Ballet of Canada by Erik Bruhn and since 1992 has held the position of Music Director of Houston Ballet. From 1998 to 2001, Mr. Florio held the position of Music Director of American Ballet Theatre. In March 2004, Mr. Florio was appointed Music Director of Het Nationale Ballet in Amsterdam and currently continues his relationship with the company as Principal Guest Conductor. Mr. Florio’s extensive discography includes DVD releases of critically acclaimed performances of The Sleeping Beauty, La Sylphide, Onegin, Cinderella, The Merry Widow, Alice, The Nutcracker, La Ronde, and Le Corsaire with ABT, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Classical Program in the Performing Arts. Mr. Florio’s DVD recording of Don Quichotte with L’Orchestre de L’Opera National de Paris also won the Cannes Classical Music

Award for Best DVD in the category of Concert and Ballet Recordings. Mr. Florio’s music arrangements include scores for Patrice Bart’s Tchaikovsky, Das Flammende Hertz, and Gustaf III; Stanton Welch’s Marie and La Bayadère; and Asami Maki’s La Dame aux Camelias.

Upon his retirement after a 22-year professional career onstage, he joined the artistic staff of Houston Ballet as ballet master in 2020.

AMY FOTE Ballet Master BARBARA BEARS Ballet Master Barbara Bears, winner of the silver medal at the 1991 International Ballet Competition, was born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and received her early dance training from Victoria Leigh and James Franklin. Ms. Bears joined Houston Ballet as a corps member in 1988 and that same season was selected by Sir Kenneth MacMillan to dance the lead in his ballet Gloria. Ms. Bears was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1995 and after 20 years with Houston Ballet retired in 2009.

Ms. Bears’s repertoire included leading roles in Swan Lake, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, La Sylphide, Romeo and Juliet, The Merry Widow, Manon, Onegin, and Madame Butterfly. Houston Ballet’s diverse repertoire has afforded Ms. Bears the opportunity to perform works by Glen Tetley, George Balanchine, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Christopher Bruce, Jiří Kylián, Anthony Tudor, Nacho Duato, Jerome Robbins, Christopher Wheeldon, William Forsythe, and Mark Morris. Ms. Bears had the honor of dancing under the directorship of both Ben Stevenson OBE and Stanton Welch AM. With choreographers at the helm, Ms. Bears created roles in over 30 different ballets. In 2001, Ms. Bears was honored to be featured on the cover of both Dance Magazine and Pointe Magazine. In 2016, Ms. Bears joined the artistic staff of Houston Ballet as ballet master.

IAN CASADY Ballet Master Ian Casady was born in Fairfax, California, and received his dance training there from David Roxander, Jody White, and Georgia Ortega. In 1998, Mr. Casady studied at Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy before joining the company as a member of the Corps de Ballet. He was promoted to Soloist in 2002, to First Soloist in 2006, and to Principal in 2007. Over the course of his career, Mr. Casady has danced a wide range of roles in works by some of the most celebrated choreographers, both past and present. Mr. Casady has been fortunate enough to have danced on some of the most historic and famous stages around the world including Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center in New York, the Bolshoi in Moscow, the Champs Elysee in Paris, the Sydney Opera House, Sadler’s Wells in London, and theaters in Hong Kong, Spain, Germany, and Canada. Mr. Casady was a finalist at the 2002 International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi.

Amy Fote began dancing at the age of four in her hometown of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, under the direction of Jean Wolfmeyer. She continued her studies on scholarship at the National Academy of Arts, Interlochen Arts Academy, and at the Harid Conservatory, where she graduated with honors. Ms. Fote then accepted a position with the Milwaukee Ballet and rose through the ranks to become a principal dancer. During her 14 years with the company, she regularly performed at the Chautauqua Institution in New York and was subsequently invited to dance the title role in Stanton Welch’s Madame Butterfly with the Royal New Zealand Ballet. In 2005, she joined Houston Ballet, where she danced for eight seasons. In 2003, she was featured in a PBS documentary entitled Dancing Anna Karenina, focusing on her portrayal of one of the great heroines of Russian literature. She was also featured on PBS, performing Alonzo King’s Map, in a moving 9/11 performance. Following retirement, Ms. Fote accepted the position of Ballet Master with Ballet San Antonio.

Upon returning to Houston, she began teaching for Houston Ballet II and Houston Ballet before joining the artistic staff in 2018.

STEVEN WOODGATE Ballet Master Australian Steven Woodgate graduated from The Australian Ballet School in 1985. He performed with The Australian Ballet, progressing through the ranks to senior artist in 1996. In 2000, he was awarded The Churchill Fellowship, which enabled him to observe many ballet masters from around the world and study their various teaching methods. Mr. Woodgate joined the artistic staff of Houston Ballet in January 2004. Mr. Woodgate has taught both student and professional classes around the world. Mr. Woodgate reproduced Stanton Welch’s Madame Butterfly for the Singapore Dance Theater, The Royal New Zealand Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Atlanta Ballet, Ballet West Utah, and The Australian Ballet. In 2009, Mr. Woodgate staged Clear for Angel Corella’s company in Spain and in 2011 re-staged Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow for Texas Ballet Theatre, Tulsa Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Teatro Colon Argentina and Houston Ballet.

Woodgate also represented Australia in the Moscow Ballet Competition in 1989. Woodgate danced principal roles in Ashton’s La Fille Mal Gardee, Van Praggh’s Coppélia, Bejart’s Le Concours and Gaite Parisienne, works by Tudor and Balanchine, Welch, and many other choreographers.

HOUSTON BALLET

23

Company Profiles Principals

24

HOUSTON BALLET

Skylar Campbell

Soo Youn Cho

Jessica Collado*

Karina González

Birthplace Laguna Beach, California

Birthplace Incheon, South Korea

Birthplace Coral Springs, Florida

Birthplace Caracas, Venezuela

Dance Training Victor and Tatiana Kasatsky Classical Ballet Academy.

Mentored and coached

by David Allan

Dance Training Hye Young Kim Ballet School, Sun Hwa Arts School, Canada National Ballet School, John Cranko Schule Ballet School

Dance Training Gwinnett Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet Academy, Ballet Nova of South Florida

Dance Training Gustavo Franklin Ballet School, Caracas, Venezuela

Joined the Company as Principal 2022

Joined the Company 2012

Joined the Company 2004

Joined the Company 2010

Promoted to Principal 2018

Promoted to Principal 2017

Promoted to Principal 2013

Yuriko Kajiya

Melody Mennite*

Connor Walsh*

Charles-Louis Yoshiyama*

The Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation Principal Dancer

The Melza M. Barr Principal Dancer

The Fondren Foundation Principal Dancer

The Anita B. Stude Principal Dancer

Birthplace Aichi, Japan

Birthplace Santa Cruz, California

Birthplace Fairfax, Virginia

Birthplace Shizuoka, Japan

Dance Training Shanghai Dance School, National Ballet School of Canada

Dance Training Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet Academy

Dance Training Kirov Academy of Ballet, Harid Conservatory, Houston Ballet Academy

Dance Training Hiraki Ballet School, English National Ballet School, Houston Ballet Academy

Joined the Company 2014

Joined the Company 2001

Joined the Company 2004

Joined the Company 2008

Promoted to Principal 2014

Promoted to Principal 2008

Promoted to Principal 2007

Promoted to Principal 2016

The Robert F. Parker Principal Dancer

The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts Principal Dancer

The Houston Ballet Guild Principal Dancer

* denotes dancers who have trained in the Houston Ballet Academy

COMPANY PROFILES

First Soloists

Christopher Coomer*

Mónica Gómez

Oliver Halkowich

Allison Miller*

Harper Watters*

Birthplace Birkenhead, England

Birthplace Havana, Cuba

Birthplace Florida Keys, Florida

Birthplace St. Petersburg, Florida

Birthplace Dover, New Hampshire

Dance Training Houston Ballet Academy, Wallasey School of Ballet

Dance Training National Ballet School of Cuba

Dance Training Miami City Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School

Dance Training Diane Partington Studio of Classical Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts

Dance Training Houston Ballet Academy, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Portsmouth School of Ballet

Joined the Company 2004

Joined the Company 2015

Joined the Company 2002

Joined the Company 2006

Joined the Company 2011

Promoted to First Soloist 2018

Promoted to First Soloist 2019

Promoted to First Soloist 2018

Promoted to First Soloist 2018

Promoted to First Soloist 2021

The Houston Ballet Guild First Soloist

Soloists

Tyler Donatelli*

Christopher Gray

Ryo Kato

Bridget Kuhns*

Birthplace Huntington Beach, California

Birthplace Vancouver, BC, Canada

Birthplace Saitama, Japan

Birthplace Columbus, Ohio

Jacquelyn Long*

Mackenzie Richter*

Aaron Daniel Sharratt*

Alyssa Springer*

Birthplace Cleveland, Ohio

Birthplace Warner Robins, Georgia

Birthplace Tuscon, Arizona

Birthplace Orange County, California

* denotes dancers who have trained in the Houston Ballet Academy

HOUSTON BALLET

25

COMPANY PROFILES

Demi Soloists

Chandler Dalton*

Aoi Fujiwara*

Yumiko Fukuda

Estheysis Menendez

Naazir Muhammad*

Birthplace Richmond, Virginia

Birthplace Osaka, Japan

Birthplace Saitama, Japan

Birthplace Havana, Cuba

Birthplace Brooklyn, New York

Luzemberg Santana

Elivelton Tomazi

Natalie Varnum*

Andrew Vecseri*

Chae Eun Yang

Birthplace João Pessoa, PB, Brazil

Birthplace Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Birthplace Ashford, Alabama

Birthplace Houston, Texas

Birthplace Seoul, Republic of Korea

Corps de Ballet

Simone Acri

Henrique Barbosa*

Gretel Batista

Magnoly Batista*

Neal Burks*

Birthplace Saitama, Japan

Birthplace Maracanaú, CE, Brazil

Birthplace Havana, Cuba

Birthplace Santiago, Dominican Republic

Birthplace Jacksonville, Florida

Jaci Doty*

Caleb Durbin*

Danielle Esposito

Syvert Lorenz Garcia*

Rafaela Henrique*

Kellen Hornbuckle*

Birthplace Shenandoah, Iowa

Birthplace Newcastle, Australia

Birthplace San Diego, California

Birthplace Oslo, Norway

Birthplace Jundiai, SP, Brazil

Birthplace Ann Arbor, Michigan

26

HOUSTON BALLET

* denotes dancers who have trained in the Houston Ballet Academy

COMPANY PROFILES

Kirsten Hunsberger*

Danbi Kim*

Fernando Martin-Gullans

Riley McMurray*

Caroline Perry*

Birthplace Las Vegas, Nevada

Birthplace Suwon, Republic of Korea

Birthplace Atlanta, Georgia

Birthplace Chicago, Illinois

Birthplace Orange County, California

McKhayla Pettingill*

Samuel Rodriguez

Madison Russo*

Song Teng*

Matthew West*

Jack Wolff*

Birthplace Phoenix, Arizona

Birthplace Atlanta, Georgia

Birthplace West Palm Beach, Florida

Birthplace Hunan, China

Birthplace Ibaraki, Japan

Birthplace Pearland, Texas

Apprentices

Jindallae Bernard*

Emma Forrester*

Eli Gruska

Jordan Lovelace

Birthplace New Orleans, Louisiana

Birthplace Houston, Texas

Birthplace Los Angeles, California

Birthplace Dallas, Texas

Zoe Lucich

Jackson Miles*

Yu Wakizuka

Birthplace Marin County, California

Birthplace Denver, Colorado

Birthplace Osaka, Japan

* denotes dancers who have trained in the Houston Ballet Academy

HOUSTON BALLET

27

Houston Ballet Staff ARTISTIC †Stanton Welch AM* Artistic Director Barbara Bears* Ballet Master Ian Casady* Ballet Master Amy Fote* Ballet Master Steven Woodgate* Ballet Master Katerina De Lawyer Artistic Coordinator Sarah Miller Artistic Administrative Associate ADMINISTRATION †James Nelson* Executive Director †Kelli Gilson General Manager Aileen Roberts Company Manager Laurel Rowe Executive Assistant & Board Liaison FINANCE †Kristi Roberts Chief Financial Officer †Rachel Koenig Director of Human Resources Thelma Hearren Controller Denise Guevara Senior Accountant Kenneth Knight II Payroll Coordinator Diamantina Peña* Accounts Payable Coordinator Cheryl Zane* Special Advisor Matthew Limes Human Resources Coordinator Garth Luther Associate Director, Facilities Alma Amaya, Patricia Barnes, Allison Johnson Receptionists TECHNOLOGY †MJ Bavaret* Director of IT Kelly Holcomb Cloud Services Manager Alejandro Rivas Network Administrator Joshua Jemio Help Desk II Silver Ehiwario Project Associate Gilbert Chapa Help Desk I NUTCRACKER MARKET †Patsy Chapman* CEO Jennifer Estrada Nutcracker Market Manager Abimbola Agbabiaka Nutcracker Market Communications Coordinator Susan Lehmann Nutcracker Market Associate Sofia Del Villar Nutcracker Market Associate

28

HOUSTON BALLET

DEVELOPMENT †Angie Lane Chief Development Officer Haley Calvert Development Coordinator Stephanie Faulk Annual Fund Manager Angela Fulcher Assistant Director, Tessitura Operations Jasmine Fuller Cane Assistant Director, Publications Devon Furl Assistant Director, Special Events Joey Gaona Assistant Director, Institutional Giving Lucy Graham Donor Relations Manager Ana Gonzalez* Data Processing Manager Colleen Hargraves Individual Giving Coordinator Darry Hearon Assistant Director, Major and Planned Gifts Lindsey Hurst* Director of Institutional Giving Nao Kusuzaki Development Staff Associate Nancy Little Assistant Director, Individual Giving Madeline Patton Institutional Giving Coordinator Megan Raines Director of Individual Giving Kate Wood Development Communications Coordinator Alexandra Yates Senior Director, Special Events Baylee Zeringue Special Events Associate Coordinator MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS †Angela Lee* Director of Marketing and Public Relations Tory Lieberman Associate Director of Marketing Jared Murphy Graphic Designer Lynn Chung* Marketing Coordinator Christina Ferraz Public Relations Manager Emily Averitt-Cleveland Education Marketing & PR Coordinator Leslie Goodrum Retail Merchandise & Display Coordinator Anne Wheeler Archivist Project Manager David Rivera Associate Director of Audio & Video Services Nicole Bacon Foreman Audio Visual Assistant

Lauren Gayden* Associate Director of Ticketing Services Christina Martinez, Carlyn Scott* Box Office Managers Brittany Restrepo Ticketing Services Manager Rachel Walrath Ticketing Services Coordinator Mike Miles Audience Services Coordinator Austin Cushman, Arianna Day, Tabytha Donnelly, Cynthia Giron, Megan Goodlett, Soledad Lara, Nicole Levy, Stephan Little, Maxwell Paulus, Diamond Rector, Cynthia Saldana, Aaron Thomas, Mary Wemple Wortham Theater Center Box Office Customer Service Representatives PRODUCTION †Michelle de los Reyes* Head of Production †Sandra Fox Head of Costumes †Lisa J. Pinkham Resident Lighting Designer Grey Starbird Technical Director Jonathan Moore Stage Manager Eli Walker Assistant Stage Manager Kimberly Norlin Production Coordinator Ashley Christian Production Operations Manager Gregory Stewart Head Carpenter Lafayette Andrews Assistant Carpenter Barry Thomas* Master Electrician Jason Mathis Assistant Electrician Paul Gibson Assistant Electrician/ Light Board Operator Dustin Dowell Property Master Andrew Harper Sound Consultant Zachary Paugh Costume Shop Manager Crystal Breihan Company Wardrobe Coordinator Alexa Carlson Academy Wardrobe Coordinator Freddy Reymundo, Drieux Dismukes, Dana Pike, Chris Abide Wardrobe Supervisors Susie DeBlieck, Gloria Pazi, Wendy Stallworth Wig Technicians Kendall Sarro Wardrobe Administrative Assistant

MUSIC †Ermanno Florio* Music Director Richard Reeves* Orchestra Manager/Music Administrator Theresa Hanebury* Music Librarian/Pianists’ Manager & Technical Director Katherine Burkwall-Ciscon* Principal Pianist/Music Coordinator William Patterson Academy Pianist Manager Tyrone Boyle, Jennifer Edmondson, Grecia Lavenderos,* Benjamin Kaplan, April Zhi Li-Thompson, William Patterson, William Marsden* Pianists Krume Andreeveski, Benjamin Chavez, Krystel Grauvogl, Tomoe Hayashi,* Ning-Chih Hsu, Nara Jeffus, Elizabeth Mendez, Alex Navarro, Pelayo Parlade, Adeline Saylor, Michele Vesceri Part-Time Pianists James Edwards, Terrence Karn, William Suddreath Academy Part-Time Percussionists ACADEMY †Jennifer Sommers* Academy Director Claudio Muñoz* HBII Ballet Master Cheryne Busch* Upper School Principal Beth Everitt Lower School Principal & Children’s Ballet Master †Melissa Bowman Director of Curriculum Orlando Molina Academy Instructor & Boys Program Coordinator Susan Bryant*, Elizabeth McMillan, Kelly Myernick Kubin* Academy Instructors Katie Wesche Academy Administrative Manager Yahudi Castañeda Academy Artistic Operations Manager Carla Cortez Academy Registrar Dustin Shaw Academy Programs Manager Megan Doerksen Manager, Student Life Shelby Connolly Academy Artistic Operations Coordinator Tempest McLendon Academy Administrative Coordinator Akihiro Kawasaki Head Academy Strength & Conditioning Coach Lauren Anderson* Associate Director, Education and Community Engagement

Alexandra Garza Coordinator, Education & Community Engagement Jamie L. Cegelski Associate, Education & Community Engagement Yasmine De La Rosa Intern, Education & Community Engagement Michael Appleman, Brittany Bass, Gabrielle Becerra, Jacquelyne Boe, Melanie Boettcher, Durell Comedy, Dwayne Cook, Victoria De Bethencourt, Benjamin Delony, Dawn Dippel, Rupert Edwards, Carla Flores Keniston, LaRodney Freeman, Yamilka Galindo, Anna Gould, Valerie Handy, Spencer Hering, Gabrielle Johnson, Patricia King, Paige Kutschall, Gabrielle Luna, Ellen Mallon, Evoni McClain, Lindsey McGill, Mallory Mehaffey, Vance Monet, Robbie Moore, Kristina Mosbo, Paola Murga Parada, Argenis Nino, Lucinda Rohrer, Dawn Scannell, Minely Soto, Kathleen Tidwell Part-Time Academy Instructors & Teaching Artists Arin Alston, Lara Hannaford, Jamela Johns, Chloe Normand, Minely Soto, Katherine Wicks, Vance Monet, Anna Gould, Evoni McClain Part-Time Academy Class Monitors Pam Blangy, Jacquelyne Boe, Brittany Deveau, Danielle Farzanegan, Michelle Gregovic, Gabrielle Johnson, Nadia Khan, Patricia King, Ellen Blanchat Mallon, Katrina Olson, Lisa Petrozzi, Michelle Phillips, Hilary Schaff, Chelsea Smith, Jennifer Trimmer Wellness Team Kelsey Fyffe Academy Counselor Judy Spong Academy ESL Teacher Emily Hahn Academy Nutritionist Maria McCain Resident Dorm Supervisor Vance Monet Part-Time Dorm Chaperone Amy Pearl Resident Advisor Andrew Faulk, Nathanial Nakadate*, Peter Nguyen Academic Advisors HOUSTON METHODIST STAFF Carina M. Nasrallah, MS, LAT, ATC, CISSN Head Athletic Trainer Leanne Wonesh Academy Athletic Trainer

*Houston Ballet staff who have more than 10 years of service †Senior leadership

Jewels Feb. 24 - March 6

Emeralds Rubies Diamonds

Production underwriting by Hallie Vanderhider

houstonballet.org | HOUSTONBALLET.ORG/ACADEMY 713.227.2787 (ARTS)

2021-2022 Board of Trustees EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OFFICERS Ms. S. Shawn Stephens*, Chairman Mrs. Leigh M. Smith, President Mrs. Margaret Alkek Williams, Secretary Mrs. Elizabeth R. Zdeblick, Vice President – Academy Mr. Jesse H. Jones II*, Vice President – Development Mrs. Elizabeth Leykum, Vice President – Education & Community Engagement Mrs. Amy Pincu, Vice President – Finance Mr. Daniel M. McClure, Vice President – Investment Mr. Jerry Martin, Vice President – Marketing

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE Mrs. F. T. Barr– Ms. Gillian Hobson – Mrs. Russell C. Joseph Ms. Jennifer Kushner – Chad Libertus – Ms. Leticia Loya – Mrs. Kelley S. Lubanko Mr. James J. Parr – Mrs. Carroll Robertson Ray– Mrs. Allison Thacker* – Stephanie Tsuru Mrs. Christine M. Underwood – Ms. Hallie Vanderhider – Mr. Marcus A. Watts – Mrs. Lynn Wyatt

TRUSTEES Mr. W. Cameron Alguire Dr. Julia D. Andrieni Mrs. Diane Bazelides Ms. Ann C. Bean Mr. Gary V. Beauchamp Mrs. Gina Bhatia Mrs. Susan Binney Mrs. Leslie Blanton Mr. Tony Bradfield Mrs. Kristy J. Bradshaw Ms. Lindsey Brown Mrs. Lenni Burke Mrs. Anne S. Chao Mr. James Cowan Mr. and Mrs. James W. Crownover Mrs. Lilly Cullen Mrs. Rosanette S. Cullen Ms. Sasha Davis Mr. Bastiaan de Zeeuw Mrs. Pamela D. Earthman Sharon F. Erskine Mrs. Martha Finger Mrs. Allison L. Flikerski Richard W. Flowers Hon. Charles C. Foster Mrs. Kate Fowler Mrs. Jo Furr 30

HOUSTON BALLET

Mr. Mitchell George Mrs. Mignon Gill Sandra S. Godfrey Mrs. Donald M. Graubart Mr. Jeremy Griggs Mr. Joseph A. Hafner, Jr. Mr. Herschel Hamner Dr. Joshua D. Harris Mrs. Nancy Ferguson Haywood Mrs. Winell Herron Mr. Michael Heckman Ms. Michelle Iversen Jeffery Mr. James M. Jordan* Natasha Khan Dr. Dale G. Konicek Elizabeth Mata Kroger Ms. Melanie Lawson Dr. Bridgitte Shen Lee Mr. Mark Loveland Mr. Joseph A. Matula Mrs. Jean E. May Mrs. J. Luke McConn III Mrs. Kris McGee Richard K. McGee* Mrs. Martha Rocks McMurrey Mr. Shane A. Miller Mrs. Michael Mithoff

Marsha L. Montemayor Ms. Nancy Powell Moore Ms. Beth Muecke Dr. Duyen Huynh Nguyen Tammy Tran Nguyen Mrs. Cabrina Owsley Mr. Robert F. Parker* Mrs. Elisa S. Pye Mr. Ron Rand Macey Reasoner Laura M. Robertson Mrs. Akemi Saitoh Ms. Samira A. Salman Mrs. Louisa Stude Sarofim* (L) Ms. Elizabeth Schwarze Mrs. James Shaffer Dannika E. Simpson Mrs. Alicia Smith Mrs. Heidi Smith Dr. Liliana Soltero Mr. Karl S. Stern* Mr. Nicholas L. Swyka* Becca Cason Thrash Mrs. Ileana Treviño Mrs. Phoebe Tudor* Mrs. Kelli Weinzierl Mrs. Rini Ziegler (L) Life Trustee * Former Board President

Étoile

Étoile honors the visionary leaders who make extraordinary annual commitments of $100,000 or more to Houston Ballet. Étoile, translated from French, means “star” and is most frequently used in the ballet world to designate the highest ranking of principal dancers within a company – a fitting tribute to those whose generosity substantially underwrites Houston Ballet’s world-class performances, renowned dance training, and extensive community programs.

MELZA AND TED BARR Melza and Ted Barr, longtime Houston Ballet subscribers, are champions of Stanton Welch’s ambitious vision to bring Houston Ballet to the forefront of dance here in the U.S. and internationally. They were instrumental in making possible the 2015 world premiere of Romeo and Juliet and its milestone tour to Melbourne, Australia. Melza and Ted were also supporters of the campaign to build the Company’s Center for Dance and integral contributors to Houston Ballet’s Crisis Relief Fund. Additionally, the Barrs endowed a Principal Dancer position in Melza’s name, currently held by Melody Mennite.

THE BROWN FOUNDATION, INC. For nearly four decades, The Brown Foundation has been one of Houston Ballet’s most generous philanthropic supporters. Established in 1951 and based in Houston, the Foundation distributes funds principally for education, community service, and the visual and performing arts. The Foundation was instrumental in contributing to Houston Ballet’s crisis relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Harvey and COVID-19. The Foundation’s tremendous commitment to Houston Ballet’s endowment, general operating fund, and the Center for Dance has paved the way for Houston Ballet to grow into the world-renowned company it is today.

GARY V. BEAUCHAMP AND MARIAN WILFERT BEAUCHAMP As longtime members of the Ballet family, Marian and Gary’s extraordinary generosity has touched nearly every aspect of the Company, from production underwriting to support for the Ballet’s world-class dance facility. For the past two seasons, Marian and Gary have made important gifts toward one of Houston Ballet’s key education and community engagement initiatives – Student Matinees – which bring the joy of dance to thousands of schoolchildren each year, many of whom would not otherwise have such opportunity to experience performing arts.

MYRA BROWN Myra Brown is a longtime friend to Houston Ballet since moving to Houston from New Jersey over 20 years ago. Together with her late husband, Ira, Myra has been a devoted supporter and advocate for the arts in Houston and, in particular, aspiring young artists involved in the performing arts. She was instrumental in supporting a collaborative production featuring both Houston Ballet and University of Houston’s Moores School of Music.

She established an endowed scholarship in the Houston Ballet Academy, which creates an enduring legacy to help develop the next generation of ballet dancers for Houston and the world of dance.

ALBERT AND ANNE CHAO Albert and Anne Chao are inspiring community leaders and philanthropists who have supported the Ballet for more than a decade. The Chaos chaired the 2017 Houston Ballet Ball and provided critical support to the Ballet’s Crisis Relief Fund in 2020. Through the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation, the Chaos provided instrumental and early support of Houston Ballet’s new production of The Nutcracker. Albert and Anne also serve in a number of leadership roles in other arts and cultural organizations throughout Houston.

HOUSTON BALLET

31

ÉTOILE

THE CULLEN TRUST FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

CONOCOPHILLIPS ConocoPhillips has been a proud sponsor of Houston Ballet for more than three decades. As one of the world’s largest independent exploration and production companies, ConocoPhillips is proud to support Houston’s thriving cultural arts community. ConocoPhillips’s investment in Houston Ballet’s mission and goals can be recognized in their support of the construction of Houston Ballet’s Center for Dance and productions including Cinderella, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Giselle, and Stanton Welch’s The Nutcracker. They were honored at the 2019 Houston Ballet Ball.

Laura Robertson, Deputy General Counsel, serves on Houston Ballet’s Board of Trustees.

THE CULLEN FOUNDATION One of the city’s oldest and most significant charitable institutions, The Cullen Foundation has supported Houston Ballet for nearly 50 years and is one of its most important benefactors.

Established in 1947, the Foundation has more than 70 years of giving history generously supporting cultural arts, education, health care, and public service in the greater Houston area, granting nearly $500 million to Houston institutions.

Notably, the Foundation was a lead supporter of Houston Ballet’s Center for Dance, Stanton Welch’s The Nutcracker, and the Ballet’s crisis relief efforts in recent years.

THE CULLEN TRUST FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts has been a generous underwriter of Houston Ballet’s presentation of new and premiere ballets for more than three decades. The Trust was established from assets of The Cullen Foundation to support Texas performing arts institutions, focusing on those within the greater Houston area. In addition to supporting new works, The Trust has been a generous sponsor of Houston Ballet’s endowment, the construction of the Center for Dance, and The Nutcracker. Additionally, The Trust has generously supported the Ballet’s Crisis Relief Fund and the Share the Joy campaign, providing both vital challenge grants.

THE JERRY C. DEARING FAMILY FOUNDATION The Jerry C. Dearing Family Foundation passionately supports Houston-based nonprofits that provide health, education, and sustainability services for the at-risk men, women, and children of Houston and Harris County. As a family-run private foundation that distributes funds for public charitable purposes, the Foundation principally provides encouragement and assistance to Houston-based nonprofits. The Foundation’s Executive Director Kate Dearing Fowler is an integral member of Houston Ballet’s Board of Trustees, and the Foundation supports Houston Ballet’s Education and Community Engagement programming, which reaches more than 74,000 participants annually. The Foundation will be honored at the Raising the Barre event on April 24, 2022.

THE EVENTS COMPANY Houston Ballet is proud to count The Events Company among its top supporters. For many years, The Events Company has provided incredibly generous support to Houston Ballet’s special events and, especially, the Houston Ballet Ball. Their support has been instrumental in the success of numerous events. Richard Flowers of The Events Company joined Houston Ballet’s Board of Trustees in the 2018-2019 season.

HOUSTON BALLET GUILD Founded in 1973, Houston Ballet Guild has supported Houston Ballet, its Academy, and special programs for more than 40 years. The Guild hosts the phenomenal Nutcracker Market each year and, along with other projects, has contributed millions of dollars since its inception. The group has underwritten the Sugar Plum Fairy costume in Stanton Welch’s The Nutcracker and Houston Ballet’s bi-annual publication Houston Ballet News. Each year, Houston Ballet Guild volunteers collectively provide more than 5,400 hours of their time to support Houston Ballet.

32

HOUSTON BALLET

ÉTOILE

HOUSTON METHODIST This season will mark the 14th year of Houston Ballet’s partnership with Houston Methodist and the Center for Performing Arts Medicine (CPAM). Houston Ballet is proud to have Houston Methodist as its Official Health Care Provider as well as receive the unique benefits provided to the dancers through CPAM—a specialized group of more than 100 elite physicians working collaboratively to address the specific demands placed on performing artists. Recently ranked as the No. 1 hospital in Texas by U.S. News and World Report, Houston Methodist supports Houston Ballet through its philanthropic giving in addition to providing high-quality health care to the dancers. Through the ongoing pandemic, Houston Methodist has been instrumental in creating guidelines to keep Houston Ballet dancers safe and healthy as they return to the studio.

JESSE H. JONES II Jesse H. “Jay” Jones II was first introduced to the ballet when his mother served on the Houston Ballet Board of Trustees. Now a Board Trustee himself since 1983, he currently serves on the Board’s Executive Committee as Vice President of Development. Jay was a member of the search committee for Stanton Welch and co-chaired the committees for Houston Ballet’s Dance With Us, Crisis Relief Fund, and Share the Joy campaigns.

Jay was honored at the 2016 Ballet Ball and carries on a distinguished family legacy of civil leadership in Houston.

DEBORAH AND ED KOEHLER For nearly fifty years, Deborah and Ed Koehler have been Houston Ballet supporters and ticketholders. As the Executive Director of the Raymond N. Plank Philanthropy Fund, Deborah is instrumental in providing support to the Ballet’s Education and Community Engagement programs.

The Koehlers have continued to give generously in honor of Lauren Anderson, Houston Ballet’s Associate Director of Education and Community Engagement; they feel deeply connected to the importance of Lauren’s work in introducing Houston’s youth to the joy of dance.

KPRC Official Television Partner of Houston Ballet, KPRC has been a leader in the Houston community for more than 65 years. Their unparalleled support in providing media coverage for artistic programming and the annual Nutcracker Market allows the organization to showcase the Company’s worldclass talent. In addition to providing exceptional media coverage, KPRC is a strong supporter of Houston Ballet’s special events. Houston Ballet is proud to partner with KPRC, Houston’s home for news. Houston Ballet is honored to have Vice President, General Manager Jerry Martin as a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees as Vice President of Marketing.

LETICIA LOYA For more than a decade, Leticia Loya has been a gracious supporter of Houston Ballet. Letty has held many leadership roles since she joined the Board of Trustees in 2005. From 2009 to 2016, she was Vice President of Academy, while championing the development of the Center for Dance facility.

Through Letty’s continued commitment to the Company, Houston Ballet has brought many new works to the stage, including Zodiac; Revisit, Rebirth, Revolt; and What the H Stands For. Letty was recently honored at the 2019 Ballet Ball, and graciously provided underwriting support for Stanton Welch’s series of dance films In Good Company.

CARROLL AND HUGH RAY For more than 20 years, Carroll Ray has championed the mission of Houston Ballet.

Her leadership has been instrumental to the success of many Houston Ballet initiatives, including the campaign of Stanton Welch’s The Nutcracker and recovery from Hurricane Harvey. Most recently, Carroll has underwritten a museum-quality installation for the Center for Dance to commemorate the Ballet’s history and achievements during its 50th anniversary season.

HOUSTON BALLET

33

ÉTOILE

ISLA AND T.R. RECKLING III Isla and T.R. Reckling III are both longtime supporters of the Ballet; as decades-long Opening Night season ticketholders, they have carried out a generational family legacy of support for Houston Ballet. Over the years, the Recklings have been active across many facets of the Ballet, including Nutcracker Market and special events such as the Ballet Ball. They were also important contributors to the Dance With Us campaign and the Crisis Relief Fund through leadership gifts.

YASUHIKO AND AKEMI SAITOH As lead underwriters for Houston Ballet’s 2022 Japan Tour, longtime Guild member and Trustee Akemi Saitoh and her husband Yasuhiko are committed to investing in the Ballet’s visibility on the world stage. The Saitohs have provided a warm welcome to Japanese students and dancers over the years, and have been invaluable in creating cross-cultural inroads for the Ballet, both in Houston and around the world. Akemi has traveled with the Company to both Hamburg and New York City, and their keen support of the Ballet’s special events has helped grow the Ballet Family among their many table guests over the years.

ALLISON AND TROY THACKER Loyal subscribers since 2012, Allison and Troy Thacker are deeply committed to seeing the Company prosper. Former Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Allison currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Board. She and Troy made a generous challenge grant for the 2016 world premiere of Stanton Welch’s The Nutcracker, helping to garner community-wide support for the new production. The Thackers underwrote Trey McIntyre’s world premiere, Pretty Things, in honor of the Company’s 50th anniversary; after a year’s delay, Pretty Things will premiere this season on May 20, 2022.

ANN TRAMMELL Ann Trammell has been one of Houston Ballet’s most steadfast advocates for over three decades.

Ann has taken on numerous leadership roles, including Chairman of the Board and as a member of the capital campaign committee that raised $50 million for the Ballet’s state-of-the-art Center for Dance. She also is a member of the Arabesque Society, which recognizes friends who have included the Ballet in their estate plans, and was the honoree at the 2017 Ballet Ball. Recently, she was a generous contributor to Stanton Welch’s The Nutcracker and was instrumental in the Ballet’s Hurricane Harvey recovery and Crisis Relief Fund.

STEPHANIE AND FRANK TSURU Houston Ballet is honored to have Stephanie and Frank Tsuru as part of the Houston Ballet family. Stephanie serves on several boards across Houston and joined Houston Ballet as a Trustee in the 2018-2019 season, now serving on the Executive Committee. Stephanie and Frank generously underwrote Company dancer Oliver Halkowich’s world premiere in 2019 and are fundamental supporters of Houston Ballet special events. Stephanie and Frank are co-chairing the upcoming 2022 Ballet Ball and have generously underwritten Melody Mennite’s new work that will premiere this season.

PHOEBE AND BOBBY TUDOR Phoebe and Bobby Tudor have been amazing friends of Houston Ballet for more than two decades. Phoebe was a key member of the strategic planning committee and has served as Board President and Board Chairman. In 2014, Phoebe and Bobby underwrote John Neumeier’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, bringing its American premiere to Houston Ballet, and underwrote the world premiere of Stanton Welch’s Sylvia in 2019.

Their incredible generosity was also instrumental in the creation of Stanton Welch’s The Nutcracker, and they served as Honorary Chairs for the 2020 Ballet Ball.

34

HOUSTON BALLET

ÉTOILE

UNITED AIRLINES For over 15 years, United Airlines has been proud to be the Official Airline of Houston Ballet. United provides generous support to first-class arts organizations such as Houston Ballet and takes great pride in setting philanthropic standards in the community. United’s generous support has helped further Houston Ballet’s international recognition through its support of tours around the world, including tours to Melbourne, Australia; Ludwigshafen and Bonn, Germany; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. United Airlines was honored at the 2018 Ballet Ball.

HALLIE VANDERHIDER Hallie Vanderhider has made a tremendous impact since becoming part of the Houston Ballet family.

She joined the Houston Ballet Board of Trustees in the 2017-2018 season and recently extended her leadership by joining the Executive Committee.

As an incredible supporter of Houston Ballet’s special events, her generosity shines through the organization. Hallie served as Chairman for the 2018 Ballet Ball. Most recently, she underwrote Edwaard Liang’s Murmuration and provided critical support to the Ballet’s Crisis Relief Fund. This season, Hallie has generously underwritten our performances of George Balanchine’s iconic Jewels.

THE WORTHAM FOUNDATION, INC.

MARGARET ALKEK WILLIAMS A pillar of the arts community in Houston, Margaret Alkek Williams is one of Houston Ballet’s most devoted supporters. Margaret has championed the works of Artistic Director Stanton Welch, supporting his landmark staging of Swan Lake in 2006. Her transformational gift in 2008 helped to build the Center for Dance. In addition, she endowed a Principal Dancer position held

by Yuriko Kajiya and Houston Ballet’s annual gala performance, the Margaret Alkek Williams Jubilee of Dance. She was most recently honored at the 2020 Houston Ballet Ball. Houston Ballet is fortunate to be one of many organizations impacted so greatly by her generosity.

THE WORTHAM FOUNDATION, INC Founded in 1958, The Wortham Foundation is one of Houston’s most impactful art supporters contributing to the city’s performing and visual arts organizations as well as supporting community improvement projects throughout Houston. For nearly four decades, the Foundation has been instrumental in bringing many of Houston Ballet’s most loved and treasured story ballets to the Wortham Theater Center. The Foundation’s commitment to Houston’s arts and culture community can be seen and felt throughout the city—and it continues to uphold the values and incredible tradition of philanthropy established by founder Gus S. Wortham.

LYNN WYATT For more than 30 years, Lynn has been a passionate leader of Houston Ballet. She served as a key member of the search committee that recruited Stanton Welch AM. Their friendship has flourished over the years, and she continues to be a staunch supporter of his creative vision and has long been a champion of new work. Lynn generously underwrote Stanton Welch’s world premiere of Giselle and underwrote a new dance floor for the Company following the destruction from Hurricane Harvey. She was most recently honored at the 50th Anniversary Onstage Dinner.

HOUSTON BALLET

35

Annual Support Houston Ballet is grateful to our generous individual supporters who ensure we remain a world-class ballet company, bringing high-caliber, exhilarating performances and educational programming to audiences of all ages.

Directors Circle $50,000-$99,999

Friend of Houston Ballet Lori Gallagher and Curtis Huff Bobbie Nau Mr. and Mrs. Reginald R. Smith Mr. Mike S. Stude

Artists Circle $25,000-$49,999

Friend of Houston Ballet Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Bradshaw Lenni and Bill Burke Mrs. Jerry Ann Woodfin-Costa and Mr. Victor Costa Dr. Michael Hawkins and Dr. Liliana Soltero

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Loveland Stephen and Kelley Lubanko Kris and Richard McGee Marvin and Martha McMurrey Cabrina and Steven Owsley Mr. and Mrs. William E. Pritchard III

Mr. Kent A. Schaffer and Ms. Shara Kuy Dylan and Jordan Seff S. Shawn Stephens and James M. Jordan Bonnie Weekley Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas J. Zdeblick

Presidents Circle $15,000-$24,999

Dr. Julia Andrieni and Dr. Robert Phillips Mr. and Mrs. Phil Bazelides Mr. and Mrs. Philip D. Belanger Dr. and Mrs. Devinder Bhatia Sasha Davis and Joseph Matulevich Bastiaan and Nathalie de Zeeuw Mr. and Mrs. James E. Furr Mignon and Stephen Gill

Sandy and Lee Godfrey Mr. and Mrs. Donald M. Graubart Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Hafner, Jr. Mrs. Nancy Ferguson Haywood Mr. and Mrs. Russell C. Joseph Susan Lapin Mr. and Mrs. Henry S. May, Jr. Marsha L. Montemayor Ms. Nancy Powell Moore

James Nelson and Richard Lapin Mr. Dee S. Osborne Elisa and Cris Pye Macey and Harry Reasoner Ms. Elizabeth Schwarze Mrs. Marguerite M. Swartz Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas L. Swyka Mary and Greg Whalley

Impresario $10,000-$14,999

Friends of Houston Ballet Christopher Barr and Patricia Shanley Ms. Ann Bean Gary And Susan Binney Mr. and Mrs. Jack S. Blanton, Jr. Geraldine Briceño Mr. and Mrs. James W. Crownover Myles and Leslie Culhane Mrs. Rosanette S. Cullen Marsha and Sam Dodson Bruce and Pamela Earthman Sharon F. Erskine Twana and Kelly Faykus Myrna Fisch Allison and Adam Flikerski The Friedkin Group/Marc and Brenda Watts 36

HOUSTON BALLET

Mitchell B. George and Stanley Curtis, Jr. Nancy L. Harwell Hope Huber Donna Kaplan and Richard Lydecker Dr. Dale G. Konicek Elizabeth and Bill Kroger Sissy Lappin Ms. Melanie Lawson and Mr. John F. Guess, Jr. Dr. Bridgitte Shen Lee and Mr. Eugene E. Lee Evelyn Leightman Elizabeth and Charlie Leykum Marilyn G. Lummis Joseph and Jenifer Matula Judy and Dan McClure Mr. and Mrs. Michael Mithoff Ms. Beth Muecke

Drs. Duyen and Marc Nguyen Sara and James Parr Kevin S. Potter Mrs. Lila Rauch Ms. Samira A. Salman Max Seewann and Sheel Patel Helen and Jim Shaffer Dannika E. Simpson Heidi and Marcus Smith Jessica Trincanello and Jeremy Griggs Mr. and Mrs. David M. Underwood, Jr. Mr. Timothy Wampler Mrs. Kelli Weinzierl Drs. Randall and Crystal Wright Dow and Meredith Zabolio Rini and Edward Ziegler

ANNUAL SUPPORT VIRTUOSO $7,500-$9,999 Nancy C. Allen Zachary and Karen Bell Dr. Patrick Benge C. Robert Bunch and Lilia D. Khakimova Marion and Gary Glober Mr. Samuel F. Gorman Dr. Raymond and Leora Kahn Susan and Michael Klaveness Ms. Tracy N. LeRoy D. M. Marcinek Ginni and Richard Mithoff Mr. and Mrs. Frederick J. Plaeger II Dr. David W. Reininger and Laura Lee Jones Fay and George A. Rizzo Syma and Walter Zerkow AMBASSADOR $4,000-$7,499 Friends of Houston Ballet Mr. and Mrs. W. Kendall Adam Ms. Jacqueline S. Akins Mr. and Mrs. Cameron Alguire Maida and Paul Asofsky Anne Morgan Barrett Jack Bell Mr. Duane Bennett Muffet Blake Nancy Boruta Anne Orton Boss Ms. Michaela Botha Mr. and Mrs. Douglas J. Bourne Mr. and Mrs. David A. Bristol, Jr. Lindsey Brown Judy Gray Brunk Reagan and Claudia Burch Carol Butler Jess and Patricia Carnes Beth and Michael Chambers Nada Chandler Mr. Robert Chanon Donna Collins Mr. Robert and Dr. Carol Collins C.C. Conner, Jr. and David Groover Sylvie and Gary Crum Rochelle Cyprus Douglas R. Davis and Rachel J. Littman David and Lynne Devine Mr. and Mrs. Cody Dick Sandra Didlake Ms. Jane DiPaolo Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Doneker Ms. Catherine M. Donohue Mrs. Carol Drawe Burl and Jenny Wang Drews Rebecca and Brian Duncan Danielle Ellis The Honorable Catherine and Mr. James Evans Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Faschingbauer Mary Ann and Larry Faulkner Vicki Faulkner Sidney Faust Marla and Stewart Feldman Marion and Caroline Freeman Joe and Laura Freudenberger Prince and Princess Piotr and Maria-Anna Galitzine Cynthia and Ty Geiger Dr. Eugenia George Ms. Debra Gibson Dr. and Mrs. George S. Glass Mr. and Mrs. Murphy Graham Mr. and Mrs. Joel Grossman William and Jane Guest Kerry and Jay Harpole Linda Lloyd Hart Susan and Michael Hawes Mr. and Mrs. Jim Hibbert Gillian Hobson

Gary Hollingsworth and Ken Hyde Lonnie Hoogeboom and Betsy Strauch Mrs. James E. Hooks Mr. and Mrs. Brian B. Hughes Sandra and Richard Jackson Debbie and Frank Jones Mrs. Neale W. Kempner John Atterbury Kendall Ms. Ann Koster Mrs. Warren W. Kreft Mrs. Jennifer Kushner Angie Lane and Nick Eoff Stephanie Larsen and Bryn Kristen Larsen Chad Libertus Ms. Judy Liu Eugene F. Loveland Stephen and Chris Lukin Dr. and Mrs. Michael Mann Melanie and Jerry Martin Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Matiuk Dorothy B. McCaine Bill, Julie and Jason McClung Warren and Yana McFatter Mimi Reed McGehee Vickie Milazzo and Thomas Ziemba Mr. and Mrs. Jordan H. Mintz David and Mary Montague Kathleen Moore and Steven Homer Brad and Lauren Morgan Tammy and Wayne Nguyen Mr. and Mrs. James M. Nicklos Steven J. O’Connor and Catherine L. Cegielski-O’Connor Mr. Michael and Mrs. Catherine Oestmann Martha Farish Oti Mr. and Mrs. R. Robert Page Robert and Mireille Patman Mr. and Mrs. Jordan Alexander Pincu Mr. Vsevolod Popov Ms. Lori Fultz Priess Joan and Lou Pucher Sharon Roark Joseph Henry Rose Bob Scott and Susan Bickley Sarah and Tom Scott Susan and Ed Septimus Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Simmons Michael B. Smith Frances and Chris Stacy James Stafford and Deborah Keyser Mr. and Mrs. Robert Stibolt Summit Dental Center-Dr. Essa A. Kawaja Dr. Jeffrey Sweterlitsch Dr. Jeff and Erin Thompson Diana C. Treviño Paul and Sherry Vaughan Stanton Welch AM Mrs. Sara E. White Susan Whitfield Mrs. Andrew Wilkomirski Loretta and Lawrence Williams Helen B. Wils and Leonard A. Goldstein Mr. John L. Zipprich II YOUNG AMBASSADORS $2,000 Friend of Houston Ballet Renee Anderson Nicholas Baran Katherine Brooker and Thomas Stenack Sara Carbo, River Oaks Dance Rebecca Childs Claudia Espinosa Jessie Gill Victoria Gutierrez Lindsey Hurst Shannon Lindamood Shane A. Miller David Moyer II

R. Trevor Myers Elizabeth Price Melissa Reihle Mr. and Mrs. Michael Ritchie Kristiann Rushton Lauren Walstad Hardy Alexandra Yates BRAVO $2,000-$3,999 Friends of Houston Ballet Dr. and Mrs. George J. Abdo Mrs. Elaine Adams Leslie Alston and Michael Zenker Lauren and Mark Bahorich Michelle and Lorne Bain Mr. and Mrs. Paul Balmert Drs. Robert and Nancy Benjamin Stephen and Linda Bickel Tessa Bodnar Ingrid Osborn Bond In Remembrance of Howard King Bostock Mr. and Mrs. Mark Brookner Mr. and Mrs. R. Lawrence Brown III Dr. and Mrs. Raul Caffesse Drs. Steven Craig and Janet Kohlhase In Memory of Ramon Creixell Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Denham Cynthia A. Diller Mrs. Jenny Elkins Betsy M. Figueroa Mrs. Elaine Finger Ms. Leslie Gassner Lisa Gray Dave and Bodil Guenther Sippi and Ajay Khurana Mr. and Mrs. William H. Knull III Dr. Claire Langston Paul and Nancy LeGros Nicole and Julius Leitner Mr. and Mrs. Peter MacGregor Monica McNeill Patti Mullendore Paula and Geoff Newton Paul and Arvella Oliver Mrs. Peg Palisin and Mr. Gary C. Gardner Captain Kim and Rosie Parker Grace Phillips and Eugene Nosal Jim and Kaylon Phillips Ann and Lou Raden Mr. Shannon Sasser and Mrs. Leslie Elkins Sasser Barbara and Louis Sklar Allison and Tom Stovall Dr. Wadi N. Suki and Dr. Adaani E. Frost Susan Lee Taylor Drs. Peter and Pamela Triolo Lynda Underwood Ann Wales Kristine and Stephen Wallace Betsy Winn Mr. and Mrs. Richard Wright ENCORE $1,000-$1,999 Friends of Houston Ballet Norah G. Adams Ms. Cecilia Aguilar Joan and Stanford Alexander Jonni and Skip Almoney Kenneth Anderson and Jean-Marie Simon Mr. and Mrs. Daniel O. Aronson Ann and Jonathan Ayre Laura and Tom Bacon Anthony and Gina Bahr Kristina Baizan Devereux Mrs. Greta Bandy Mr. and Mrs. Stephen J. Banks Monica and Scott Barker Stephen Barnes, MD, JD and Amy Barnes HOUSTON BALLET

37

ANNUAL SUPPORT

Corporations, Foundations, and Public Agencies Houston Ballet gratefully acknowledges the support of the following corporations, foundations, and public agencies. $750,000 OR MORE Melza M. and Frank Theodore Barr Foundation, Inc. The Brown Foundation, Inc. Houston Methodist $500,000-$749,999 The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts The Wortham Foundation, Inc. $250,000-$499,999 City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance The Cullen Foundation The Jerry C. Dearing Family Foundation The Hearst Foundations $100,000-$249,999 Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation ConocoPhillips The Elkins Foundation Houston Ballet Guild KPRC The Shubert Foundation, Inc. Texas Commission on the Arts United Airlines $50,000-$99,999 Bank of America Beauchamp Foundation Chevron City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board, Inc. The Freebird Foundation H-E-B Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo The Humphreys Foundation KPMG The Powell Foundation Shell Oil Company Vivian L. Smith Foundation Wells Fargo $25,000-$49,999 Baker Botts LLP De Beers Jewellers The Fondren Foundation William S. and Lora Jean Kilroy Foundation M. D. Anderson Foundation

38

HOUSTON BALLET

Norton Rose Fulbright Rand Group The Sarofim Foundation Texas Children’s Hospital – Pavilion for Women Truist Bank Van Cleef & Arpels Vinson & Elkins LLP $10,000-$24,999 Bora Consulate General of Italy – Houston Entertainment Industry Foundation The Friedkin Group George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation William E. & Natoma Pyle Harvey Charitable Trust Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation Jerome Robbins Foundation KNOWAutism Foundation Robert & Pearl Knox Charitable Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee John P. McGovern Foundation Mitsubishi International Corporation Nan and Company Properties National Endowment for the Arts Scurlock Foundation Sidley Austin The William A. & Madeline Smith Foundation Sterling-Turner Foundation Truluck’s The Vaughn Foundation $2,500-$9,999 BHP Bridge Development Partners LLC The Joan and Marvin Kaplan Foundation The Sartain and Tamez Family Trust Fund Strake Foundation $1,000-$2,499 EagleLight LLC Houston (TX) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated The Oshman Foundation Performance Solar Inc.

Deborah Bautch Victor and Anna Mae Beghini Fund Elise Bentch Ed A. and Valerie Blair Mona Bostwick Ms. Barbara Brooks Cecilia and David Campbell Marilyn Caplovitz Stephanie and Ted Carpenter Mr. and Mrs. Jack Cato Drs. David A. Cech and Mary R. Schwartz Dr. Rupi Chatha Angela Chen Drs. Melissa and Stephen Chen Neel and Adrienne Choksi Janette Choy Steve and Lynne Clark Mr. Wayne Clark Brenda J. and Richard Clem Judy and Art Coen Alice and Michael Conlon In Memory of Becky Crow Ms. Gay Currie Mr. and Mrs. John deGroot Cindy and Al DeMoya Drs. Rafael Diaz and Yanett Anaya Jeanne Doornbos and Michael Maher The Escalona Family Suzi Feickert Mr. Robert Feldman Charles and Sharlynn Fenn Mrs. Madeleine Ferris Ms. Stella Fitzgibbons Mike and Lindsay Fiuzat Ermanno and Franca Florio Mary Lou Flynn-Dupart Mr. and Mrs. Harris Forbes Curtis Ford Lois Frankel Christopher and Ann Frautschi Paula Friedlander Robert and Jayne Garner Ms. Lucy Gebhart Stephan Gelinsky Anne Marit Ghazi Jason and Monik Giordano Russell Handy Karen R. and Franklin J. Harberg, Jr. Ms. Jacquelyn Harrison Mr. Robert Heyl Mr. and Mrs. John Higgins Mr. and Mrs. Ross K. Hill Ms. Kathryn de Sousa Craig and Kate Holzhauser Mr. Scott P. Howard Ms. Barbara J. Hughey Mr. James Hunter Caroline and Bruce Hurley Mr. Francisco J. Izaguirre Debra W. Jackson Mr. and Mrs. Justin Jarski Jill and Dunham Jewett Ms. Emily Kao Ara Karian Ms. Jody Kelley Ann and Tom Kelsey Doug and Karen Kenaley Stephen and Patricia King Rob and Karen Kwok Brenda Landry Parry and Sydney Lauzon Alex and Victoria Lazar Mr. Jaime Ledergerber Joseph Levitan and Nicolo Messana George and Helen Littell Mrs. Sylvia Lohkamp Linnar Looris Mr. Robert Lorio David and Susan Loveland

ANNUAL SUPPORT Marvin Lummis Dr. Brian Malechuk and Mr. Kevin Melgaard Mr. Thomas Manners Renee Margolin Shelly Mark Dr. Mary F. McAleer Mr. and Mrs. James McCartney V Michael and Onalee McEwen April and Wells McGee Ms. Patricia McMahon Bill and Judy McNamee Katie and Kurt Meissner Christianne Melanson and Durwin Sharp Colonel Michael Mergens and Mrs. Mergens Julie Miles Mrs. Eileen Moore Ms. Desrye Morgan Terrylin G. Neale Mrs. Kim T. Nguyen Mrs. Jo Papadakis Carolyn W. Payne Richard A. and Thelma A. Percoco Mr. and Mrs. Cameron Ray Wanda A. Reynolds Ms. Diana Riggle Dr. and Mrs. Mark S. Rigo Elena Lexina and Brian Rishikof Maura and Walter Ritchie Gregory and Dina Rozenfeld Brenda and Mansel Rubenstein DonNell Rushing Robert and Michele Ryan Mrs. Dominique D. Salazar-Rodgers and Dr. Shawn M. Rodgers Dan and Brenda Sauls Mr. and Mrs. Russell D. Sellen Juan Serrato M.D. Audrey and Sofie Sims Jewel Sims and Thomas Springer Tricia and Mark Singer Mrs. Randal Smith Mr. William Snypes and Mrs. Suzanne Suter Mrs. Christine Sofka Ms. Judy Spinella Christen and Amy Springs Carol Todd Stamatedes James and Ginger Stark Marty and Bob Stein Mr. Sam L. Stolbun and Dr. Alana R. Spiwak Dr. Jeffrey Sweterlitsch Kay and Bert Tabor Amir Taghi Dr. Deborah A. Thomas Marty Thomas Mrs. Jean A. Unger Dean Walker Suzanne Walstad Dr. and Mrs. J. Anthony Walter III Barbara and Howard Weiner Mike and Joan Weltzien Mr. Gary Whitney Mary Anne Wilkinson and Bill Samelson Janice B. Willett The Wolens Family Dr. and Mrs. Bruce Wright Lori and Scott Wulfe Cheryl Lynn Zane †in memoriam These generous donations were received before February 1, 2022. For more information about supporting Houston Ballet through annual membership, please contact Darry Hearon, Assistant Director, Major and Planned Gifts, at 713.535.3275 or dhearon@houstonballet.org.

Arabesque Society The Arabesque Society recognizes and honors those friends who have provided for Houston Ballet in their estate plans. These generous individuals allow Houston Ballet to continue to perform world-class ballet, be a premier training ground for dance, and create important education and community outreach programs by helping to safeguard its future. With deep gratitude, we acknowledge the following donors for including Houston Ballet in their estate plans.

Friends of Houston Ballet Dr. and Mrs. George Abdo Susan Battelstein Jack Bell Dr. Patrick Benge The Edna Madden and Paul John Berres Charitable Remainder Trust Myra Brown Tripp Carter Cecil C. Conner, Jr. Sasha Davis Burton Dickey and Yean Sun Debra Donaldson Sharon Erskine Susan Feickert Myrna Fisch Mrs. Barry Galt Mitchell B. George Mr. Samuel F. Gorman Anne and Donald Graubart Mr. Jas A. Gundry Linda Lloyd Hart Ms. Karen J. Hartnett Nancy Ferguson Haywood Dr. Lamar and Jane Jackson Charitable Remainder Trust Jesse H. Jones II

Barbara and Raymond Kalmans John A. Kendall Dr. James E. and Betty W. Key Mrs. Evelyn Leightman Christianne Melanson Shane A. Miller Mr. Juan R. Morales Ms. Kathleen Much Mrs. Patti Murphy James D. Nelson Dr. Susan Osterberg Richard A. and Thelma A. Percoco Dr. Didier Piot Rick and Kathy Plaeger Shelly and Marty Power Mrs. Lila Rauch Sharon Roark Jon and Nell Schwartz Dr. and Mrs. Robert S. Toth Ann G. Trammell Lynda Lighthouse Transier Ms. Jana E. Vander Lee Elba L. Villarreal Dean Walker Margaret (Midge) Wische Cecily and Jim Young Mr. John Zipprich

We honor the memory of those who included Houston Ballet in their estate plans.

Harriet Bath Audrey Jones Beck Joe Anne Berwick Raymona Brown Bomar Mary Frances Newton Bowers Suzanne S. Braden Ira B. Brown Lawrence E. Carlton George W. Ernst, Jr. 52 PLAYBILL Frank R. Eyler Linda K. Finger Cora Lee Gott David Haber Mickey Hagey

Kevin Harvey Mr. John S.W. Kellett Frederick Adrian Lee Mr. E. Daniel Leightman Elizabeth Martin Harris Masterson III Mr. William McAnear Charles Edward McKerley Dr. Matilda B. Melnick Robert A. Moody David Glenn Puckett Gloria E. Roberti Mr. Richard H. Stork Anita B. Stude Dorothy B. Thomas

For more information about The Arabesque Society, please contact Megan Raines, Director of Individual Giving at 713.535.3241 or mraines@houstonballet.org

HOUSTON BALLET

39

Houston Ballet Endowment Endowed funds assist Houston Ballet in attracting talented artists.

The Harris Masterson III Artistic Director – Stanton Welch AM The Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation Principal Dancer – Yuriko Kajiya The Melza M. Barr Principal Dancer – Melody Mennite The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts Principal Dancer – Jessica Collado The Fondren Foundation Principal Dancer – Connor Walsh The Houston Ballet Guild Principal Dancer – Karina González The Houston Ballet Guild First Soloist – Allison Miller The Anita B. Stude Principal Dancer – Charles-Louis Yoshiyama The Robert F. Parker Principal Dancer – Soo Youn Cho The Carolyn Lee and Frederick Adrian Lee Production Fund supports the creation of new productions and the restoration of existing works.

The Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation endows the Margaret Alkek Williams Jubilee of Dance, Houston Ballet’s annual gala performance.

The Ira and Myra Brown Young Dancer Scholarship Fund underwrites training for Academy dancers annually.

The Fayez Sarofim & Co. Touring Fund supports Houston Ballet’s domestic and international tours.

The C. C. Conner Scholarship Fund, The Roy M. Huffington Scholarship Fund, The Billie Bath Perlman Scholarship Fund, and The Winifred Wallace Scholarship Fund each underwrite training for one HBII dancer annually.

The Margaret Wiess Elkins Young Artist Fund, The Ben Stevenson Scholarship Fund and The Anita Borges Stude Scholarship Fund each underwrite training for one Academy dancer annually.

The AIG American General/AIG VALIC Education and Community Engagement Programs Fund helps Houston Ballet reach a broad population of all ages and economic levels.

With deep gratitude, we salute the following donors for their contributions to the Endowment.

$5,000,000 OR MORE The Brown Foundation, Inc. Estate of Frederic Adrian Lee $3,000,000-$4,999,999 Estate of George W. Ernst, Jr. The Wortham Foundation, Inc. $1,000,000-$2,999,999 The Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation Melza M. and Frank Theodore Barr Foundation, Inc. The Cullen Foundation The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts Houston Endowment, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Harris Masterson III†

$500,000-$999,999 Ira† and Myra Brown National Endowment for the Arts Mr. Fayez Sarofim $100,000-$499,999 Friends of Houston Ballet AIG American General/AIG VALIC Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Arnold, Jr. Lee and Ramona Bass Foundation Estate of Audrey Jones Beck Estate of Joe Anne Berwick Estate of Suzanne S. Braden Mrs. Laurie Champion The Cockrell Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Peter R. Coneway Charles Engelhard Foundation Mr. James A. Elkins, Jr.† The Elkins Foundation

The Fondren Foundation Mr. and Mrs. William J. Gillingham† Hearst Foundations Mr. William J. Hill† Barbara F. and Gerald D. Hines† Hobby Family Foundation Houston Ballet Guild Mr. and Mrs. Meredith J. Long Mary Ralph Lowe Estate of William McAnear Mr. and Mrs. George P. Mitchell† Mitchell Energy & Development Corp.

Mr. and Mrs. Roy S. O’Connor Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Parker Mr. Henry Salvatori Scurlock Foundation Tarrant Hancock Trust Estate of Dorothy B. Thomas †in memoriam

40

HOUSTON BALLET

Co-chairs Stephanie & Frank Tsuru and Kelli Weinzierl with Executive Director Jim Nelson

2022 Houston Ballet Ball

SPECIAL EVENTS

2022 Houston Ballet Ball

Margaret Alkek Williams and Artistic Director Stanton Welch AM

Lauren Anderson and Ed & Deb Koehler

CHEERS TO THE LONG-AWAITED RETURN of the Houston Ballet Ball! On February 19, 2022, over 400 guests danced the night away in celebration of the return to the Wortham Theater Center for the first in-person ball since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The evening raised nearly $1.4 million in support of Houston Ballet. Thank you to everyone who supported the event and special thanks to Houston Ballet Ball Co-Chairs Stephanie & Frank Tsuru and Kelli & John Weinzierl.

Troy and Allison Thacker

Heidi Smith and Kristy Bradshaw

HOUSTON BALLET

41

In the Wings

Houston Ballet will present Pretty Things May 20 - May 29, 2022 at the Wortham Theater Center.

For tickets, please visit houstonballet.org or call the box office at 713.227.2787.

42

HOUSTON BALLET

Artists of Houston Ballet in Trey McIntyre’s Pretty Things. Photo by Amitava Sarkar

This program of Houston-born ballets showcases Houston Ballet’s continued tradition of supporting the world’s most respected choreographers, featuring works by Jorma Elo, Christopher Bruce and Trey McIntyre. Elo’s ONE|end|ONE reflects the dance maker’s quirky and unexpected movements to create an atmosphere of playfulness. Bruce’s Hush is a comic and moving celebration of life set to the music of Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin. McIntyre’s Pretty Things, set to music by David Bowie, features the men of Houston Ballet and explores peacocking behavior among male dancers. Experience this wide collection of choreographic talent, all in one blockbuster performance.