Cleveland Ballet
Encyclopedia
The Cleveland Ballet was founded in 1972 by Dennis Nahat and Ian Horvath as a dance school, the School of Cleveland Ballet. They subsequently recruited professional dancers who by 1975 were previewing performances around Cleveland. The company first performed at the Hanna Theatre
November 16, 1976. A few years later the Ohio Chamber Orchestra began providing live music and in 1981 the company presented its first full-length ballet, The Nutcracker
Coppelia
, Romeo and Juliet and Swan Lake
were next added to the repertory. In 1984 Horvath resigned, leaving Nahat solely responsible for the company and school. That year the ballet moved to the State Theater in Playhouse Square. From 1986 to 2000 it continued as the San Jose Cleveland Ballet
, performing in both cities (it is now based exclusively in San Jose
.)
Hanna Theatre
The Hanna Theatre is a theater on Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is one of the original five venues built in the district, opening on March 28, 1921...
November 16, 1976. A few years later the Ohio Chamber Orchestra began providing live music and in 1981 the company presented its first full-length ballet, The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
Coppelia
Coppélia
Coppélia is a sentimental comic ballet with original choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon to a ballet libretto by Saint-Léon and Charles Nuitter and music by Léo Delibes. It was based upon two macabre stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Der Sandmann , and Die Puppe...
, Romeo and Juliet and Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
were next added to the repertory. In 1984 Horvath resigned, leaving Nahat solely responsible for the company and school. That year the ballet moved to the State Theater in Playhouse Square. From 1986 to 2000 it continued as the San Jose Cleveland Ballet
Ballet San Jose
Ballet San Jose in San Jose, California, USA, 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...
, performing in both cities (it is now based exclusively in San Jose
Ballet San Jose
Ballet San Jose in San Jose, California, USA, 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...
.)