Ben Stevenson O.B.E.,
Artistic Director |
This is Ben Stevenson's fifth year as artistic director of Texas Ballet
Theater. For twenty-seven years, he nurtured Houston Ballet from a small provincial
ensemble to one of the nation's largest dance companies that has performed to
critical acclaim throughout the world. For his contributions to the world of
international dance, Mr. Stevenson was named an Officer of the Order of the British
Empire (O.B.E.) by Queen Elizabeth II in the New Year's Honors List in December
1999. In April 2000, he was presented with the Dance Magazine Award, one of the
most prestigious honors on the American dance scene. Certainly Mr. Stevenson
is one of the most original figures in the development of regional ballet in
America. Most recently, Mr. Stevenson became a recipient of the 2005 Texas Medal
of Arts Award for dance. And though he is British, it is his achievement as teacher,
choreographer, and company director that is rooted in American ballet.
Mr. Stevenson, a native of Portsmouth, England, received his dance training at
the Arts Educational School in London. Upon his graduation, Mr. Stevenson was
awarded the prestigious Adeline Genee Gold Medal, the highest award given to
a dancer by the Royal Academy of Dancing. At the age of eighteen, Mr. Stevenson
performed with Alicia Markova in Where the Rainbow Ends and soon after was invited
to join the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet by Dame Ninette de Valois, where he worked
with Sir Frederick Ashton, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, and John Cranko. A few years
later, Sir Anton Dolin invited him to dance with London Festival Ballet where,
as a principal dancer, he performed leading roles in all the classics.
In 1976, Mr. Stevenson was appointed artistic director of Houston Ballet, and
since that time, he has built Houston Ballet into one of America's leading ballet
companies. During his tenure, he developed Houston Ballet's repertory by acquiring
the works of the world's most respected choreographers, commissioning new works,
staging the classics and choreographing original works. Mr. Stevenson's own choreography
includes the full length works Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, The Nutcracker,
The Sleeping Beauty, an original production of Peer Gynt (which opened Norway's
Bergen Festival Gala in 1983), Coppelia, Don Quixote, and original productions
of Dracula, The Snow Maiden, and Cleopatra. Mr. Stevenson has received numerous
awards for his choreography, including three gold medals at the International
Ballet Competitions of 1972, 1982, and 1986. In addition, he has staged his ballets
for English National Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, the Paris Opera Ballet,
the National Ballet of Canada, La Scala in Milan, the Munich State Opera Ballet,
the Joffrey Ballet, London City Ballet, Ballet de Santiago, and for many companies
in the United States.
In 1978, Mr. Stevenson traveled to China on behalf of the United States government
as part of a cultural exchange program. At the invitation of the Chinese government,
he has returned almost every year since to teach at the Beijing Dance Academy.
To expose the Chinese students to Western dance forms, Mr. Stevenson has brought
with him teachers of jazz and modern dance, including Gwen Verdon. In 1985, he
was instrumental in the creation of the Choreographic Department at the Beijing
Dance Academy. He is the only foreigner to have been made Honorary Faculty Member
of the Beijing Dance Academy and the Shenyang Conservatory of Music. Mr. Stevenson
has also taught for the American Ballet Theatre, the Joffrey Ballet and English
National Ballet. In July 2003, Mr. Stevenson became artistic director of Texas
Ballet Theater.
Photo Credit
Artist: Julie Gumbinner. Photo: Ellen Appel.
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