Bale Tech Nominates A New Artistic Director


ballet Technology, The nonprofit group that makes ballet education accessible to thousands of promising New York students has a new leader. The organization announced on Friday that dancer Dionne D. Figgins will replace founder Eliot Feld as artistic director in August.

“We are delighted to have found the ideal person at Dionne to collaborate with Ballet Tech’s staff, board and community to push their core ideas forward,” said Patricia Crown, chairman of the Ballet Tech Foundation.

When the epidemic began, Figgins was preparing to perform in the musical “A Wonderful World” about Louis Armstrong in Miami. But when performances were cancelled, she began teaching dance online for the Jones-Haywood Ballet School in Washington. It was this experience that convinced him to go from the stage to the studio and classroom.

“I was really inspired by the determination of my students,” he said. “I was inspired by how much they add to the space, and it made me realize that this is a space I always had to be in.”

Figgins began her career with the Harlem Dance Theater, starring in George Balanchine’s “The Four Temperaments” and “Agon,” among other ballets. He is also a Broadway artist who has appeared in various productions such as “Motown: The Musical” and “Memphis”.

In 2012, she co-founded Broadway Serves with Dana Marie Ingraham and Kimberly Marable, a nonprofit dedicated to creating community service opportunities for theater professionals.

Field, 78, shared his plans to retire last year and expressed his desire to “hand over the cane to the next generation of leadership.” “I wish Dionne my loving hope and goodwill in completing the unfinished business,” he said.

This work includes Feld’s goal of enrolling students from every public elementary school in the city. Figgins said in an interview: “Part of my job is to involve other schools in what’s going on at Ballet Tech and at least let them know it’s an option.”

The education venture that became Ballet Tech began in the late 1970s as an offshoot of Feld Ballet, the founder’s professional company. Public school students in grades 3 through 5 were invited to try it out, and those who showed talent for dance were given the opportunity to learn more at Feld’s studio near Union Square in Manhattan.

Ballet Tech, which founded its own public school for grades fourth to eighth in 1996, estimates that it has auditioned nearly 900,000 students and more than 20,000 enrolled without paying tuition fees. more than 40 years.



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