Ballet San Jose is a ballet company based in San Jose, California, USA.
The company's mission is to provide the San Francisco Bay Area with theatrically produced ballet and professional dance education in a manner that honors the vision of the artists, meets the highest technical and artistic standards, contributes to the fulfillment of the cultural needs of the community, and is accessible to as wide an audience as possible.
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The company was founded in 1986 as the "San Jose Cleveland Ballet," a co-venture with the ten-year old Cleveland Ballet which offered to the dancers added performing exposure, and each city a ballet company for a moderate, shared investment. In 2000, the Cleveland Ballet ceased operations, and over half the dancers, the headquarters, and artistic director/choreographer Dennis Nahat moved to San Jose to continue operations there. The company was originally known as Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, but in July 2006 shortened its name to simply Ballet San Jose.
Since 2003 the company has received support from its main benefactor and current chairman of the board John Fry, co-founder of Fry's Electronics).[1]
As of 2007[update], there is a resident company of 44 dancers from 14 countries in four continents, with a repertoire of over 120 traditional and modern classical ballets. Performances at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts are accompanied by the Symphony Silicon Valley. The Ballet is now a 'fully owned' resident company serving all of Silicon Valley.
On December 23, 2011, Ballet San Jose announced[2] a partnership with American Ballet Theatre (ABT) which will licence the company "to implement ABT's comprehensive National Training Curriculum for dancers".[3]
Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley has developed a repertoire of over 120 traditional and modern classical ballets. The Company includes dancers from Argentina, Canada, China, Cuba, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Venezuela, Vietnam, and the United States. The repertoire includes ballets by Balanchine, Bournonville, de Mille, and many others, in addition to Nahat's many ballets created especially for the company. The company performs classic ballets such as The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, as well as more modern ballets such as Blue Suede Shoes, based on Elvis Presley's songs.
In 2008, the Company performed an 8-city tour of China. Called the "Goodwill Tour From Silicon Valley," it represented the first international tour of the Company since its move from Cleveland.[4]
Preparations for the 2012 season were delayed, with the dancers' contract being finalized in December 2011 and rehearsals for any performances other than The Nutcracker not begun by mid-December.[1] The company's web site on January 5, 2012 had not announced its 2012 season.[5] Although an earlier report[1] that Artistic Director Dennis Nahat might be replaced was subsequently denied,[3] his role in the company remained unclear and the 2012 program will be chosen by the artistic committee and the board of directors.[3]
The 2009–2010 company of Ballet San Jose:
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Today, over 485 students study at the Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley School. [1] The Ballet School's free Education Outreach programs are dedicated to serving young audiences and at-risk children in the San Jose region.
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