During Ib’s tenure as artistic director, he created over 36 ballets, brought a multitude of renowned classics and cutting-edge new works to the stage, and gave us all so many memorable moments. Here are some of the highlights from his 24 years with Ballet Arizona. A timeline of Ib Andersen’s Choreographic Works… 2000 – Amoroso world premiere 2000 – The Nutcracker 2001 – Brandenburg Concerti 2001 – Indigo Rhapsody world premiere 2002 – Suenos world premiere 2003 – Romeo & Juliet world premiere 2003 – 2B world premiere 2004 – Mosaik world premiere 2004 – Elevations world premiere 2005 – Co ..read more

Tell us about All Balanchine!  The repertoire this year is spectacular… but it is Balanchine, so it is always extraordinary. Each piece is so different from the other, from the costumes to the music, so the audience will have a beautiful showcase of his depth and range as a choreographer. Prodigal Son is based on the biblical story. It premiered in 1929 and was the last ballet that Balanchine choreographed for Ballet Russes under Sergei Diaghilev. They commissioned famous French painter, George Rouault to design the sets and Sergei Prokofiev to compose the music, who ended up disliking wh ..read more

In the world of ballet, legacy is measured not only in graceful movements on stage but in the enduring impact left on the organization and its community. Now, it is time to reflect on the legacy and impact of Artistic Director, Ib Andersen, and his remarkable 24-year tenure, that has resulted in a transformative journey for Ballet Arizona. We recently reinvigorated our mission, vision, and values this year. The value put forward by Ib was tenacity. Of our six values, this one best represents our organization and that is the byproduct of his leadership. Ib is the very embodiment of that value a ..read more

Ballet Arizona is immensely grateful to honor the legacy of John and Oonagh Boppart and their philanthropic impact on the arts and culture landscape of Arizona. John and Oonagh were life-long learners; their curiosity and diverse interests led them to travel extensively and interact with different cultures, music and art. Their combined passion for arts, culture, education and the sciences inspired them to support numerous organizations throughout the state. In both leadership and philanthropic support, their impact can be felt throughout the Valley. As Prima Circle members since 2002, th ..read more

In ballet, innovation often breathes new life into timeless classics. For the students of the School of Ballet Arizona (SBAZ), innovation will take shape in Artistic Director, Ib Andersen’s new rendition of beloved children’s story, Peter and the Wolf at this year’s annual Spring Performance. Originally created in 1936, by Sergei Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf was never intended to be a ballet, rather a symphonic tale to educate children about music. However, Andersen’s vision for this piece will transcend the traditional boundaries of storytelling and bring dance to the forefront. While paying ..read more

In preparation for the production of All Balanchine, we are delving into the history of George Balanchine’s La Valse! La Valse was choreographed by George Balanchine to Maurice Ravel’s Valses Nobles et Sentimentales and La Valse. The ballet premiered for the first time with the New York City Ballet on February 20, 1951 at the City Center of Music and Drama. The performance features couples waltzing in a cavernous ballroom, where a woman in white is both horrified and fascinated by the uninvited figure of death, who ultimately claims her life. In 1951, when Balanchine decided to choreograph La ..read more

XIR187834 Portrait of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810) (pastel on paper) by Perroneau, Jean-Baptiste (1715-83) pastel on paper Bibliotheque de L’Opera, Paris, France Giraudon French, out of copyright In honor of International Dance Day on April 29th, we will discover the life of Jean-Georges Noverre. Noverre is noted to be the man who transformed ballet into what we see today. Jean-Georges Noverre was born on April 29th, 1727 in Paris, France, where he studied ballet under ballet master François Marcel, who was a dean of Académie Royale de Danse, the first dance institution established in the ..read more

In preparation for Ballet Arizona’s upcoming production, Contemporary Moves, we will be diving into the life of the admired contemporary dance choreographer, Paul Taylor. Photo by Maxine Hicks Paul Belville Taylor Jr. was born on July 29, 1930 in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. Taylor grew up in and around Washington D.C. and throughout his childhood he enjoyed painting and was a competitive swimmer. While being on a swim team in high school, he was the recipient of a swimming scholarship to Syracuse University in the late 1940s. Upon discovering dance through books at the university library, Taylo ..read more

How did you start dancing? I started dancing when I was 11 years old and the reason I started ballet is funny to me. When I was younger, I loved to play soccer but did not have the best coordination and would trip over my own feet. One day, I was watching a news clip online and it showed football players doing ballet to improve their balance and coordination, so I thought I should do ballet to improve at soccer. My school, Clarendon Elementary had an after school ballet program, but I was afraid to join and be made fun of by my peers. Despite that, one of my friends convinced me to join with ..read more

We start the year with the world-premiere of Nayon Iovino’s Moving Movies! What does this ballet mean for the company? This a very rare and special opportunity, not just for Nayon and Ballet Arizona, but within the ballet world. There are classic story ballets that might get a take, or a new ballet on a well-known story, but you hardly, if ever, see a new ballet with an original story. It is one thing to choreograph a 20 minute piece… it is another thing to create a full-length ballet. What it requires of you as a choreographer is drastically different. As of now, I have purposely not watched ..read more