Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT) is a ballet company in Portland, Oregon, United States.
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The company is the result of the 1989 merger of Ballet Oregon and Pacific Ballet Theater. James Canfield, a former dancer with Joffrey Ballet and principal dancer with Pacific Ballet Theater, served as Artistic Director of Oregon Ballet Theater from its inception until 2003. Under his leadership the company repertoire grew to comprise over 80 ballets, from evening-length works to contemporary pieces.
Christopher Stowell is the current artistic director. Prior to joining Oregon Ballet Theatre in 2003, he was a principal dancer with San Francisco Ballet for 16 years. During Stowell's tenure, the company has added the work of Sir Frederick Ashton, Jerome Robbins, William Forsythe, Lar Lubovitch and Christopher Wheeldon to its repertoire. New works have been created on the company by James Kudelka, Trey McIntyre, Yuri Possokhov, Julia Adam and Nicolo Fonte. In addition, Christopher Stowell has choreographed nine new ballets with Oregon Ballet Theatre's dancers.
The company performs an annual five-program season at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts and conducts regional and national tours.
The company was featured in Pointe with principal dancer Kathi Martuza on the cover. In June 2008, the company made its Kennedy Center debut with a critically acclaimed performance of RUSH by Christopher Wheeldon.
Oregon Ballet Theatre also runs the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre. Damara Bennett, a former dancer with San Francisco Ballet and founder of City Ballet School in San Francisco is the director.
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