Neighborhood Nonprofit Spotlight: The Portland Ballet

The Portland Ballet shares its story with Patch.

Patch: Tell Patch a little about your organization!

The Portland Ballet: Founded in 2001, The Portland Ballet is shaped by the vision, artistic experience and family-centered sensibility of the founding directors. Artistic Director Nancy Suzanne Davis and Executive Director Jim Lane trained at the School of American Ballet and enjoyed distinguished professional careers in companies throughout the U.S. After retiring as principal dancers of the Los Angeles Ballet—where their partnership onstage led to a marriage and family off the stage—they moved to Portland, Oregon and founded The Portland Ballet. Artistic Director Anne Mueller joined the company in 2015 to lead TPB’s Career Track program. Anne trained with Dame Sonia Arova and Thor Sutowski and came to TPB after fifteen years with Oregon Ballet Theatre, where she was a principal dancer.

A co-founder of Trey McIntyre Project, Anne has extensive experience in choreographing and staging works across the United States. TPB’s Artistic Advisor John Clifford, a favored protégé of George Balanchine, works regularly with the students. Teaching authorized dances from The George Balanchine Trust, Clifford provides a living connection to the most influential choreographer of modern times. Graduates have carried TPB’s reputation for excellence into advanced dance programs and professional companies throughout the U.S. and abroad. TPB alumni have gone on to dance with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Houston Ballet, St. Louis Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Ballet West, Grand Rapids Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Eugene Ballet, Batsheva Dance Company and other professional companies.

Patch: How does your organization help to strengthen the local community?

The Portland Ballet: TPB strives to bring our art form to new and under served audiences. TPB Outreach programs send dancers into the community, offering a chance for people of all ages throughout the Portland metro region to experience the joy and wonder of ballet. Members of the audience—in particular, young people, who see their peers in performance—respond with enthusiasm to the youthful energy, strength and grace of our dancers. These intimate dance programs include opportunities for question-and-answer interactions between stage and audience.

Patch: What is the biggest struggle your organization faces?

The Portland Ballet: Space. We did an extensive expansion of our facility in 2013-14, which allowed for a substantial increase in enrollment. We have continued to grow since and are about to embark on an additional expansion of our smallest studio. We are delighted to be blessed with a growing and vibrant student body, but are continually working to make the best use of our space to ensure all students have the best possible training experience.

Patch: What do you hope for the future of your nonprofit?

The Portland Ballet: We’d like to make our rigorous, yet nurturing approach to ballet training accessible to a broader community of students. Our outreach efforts, including several initiatives launched in recent years, have made significant progress in this area, but we’d like to do more. We’d also like to grow our national reputation as an excellent source for professional level ballet training. We have an extensive list of alumni who have gone on to dance with ballet companies and in conservatory programs around the country. These dancers have laid the groundwork for national recognition, but we’d like to grow our marketing efforts to better spread the word about these successes.

Get Your Portland News From Patch.