HUGHES TO TAKE OVER OHIO BALLET.AKRON -- Jeffrey Graham Hughes has been named artistic director of Ohio Ballet. He succeeds founding artistic director Heinz Poll, who will retire on April 30. Hughes, currently rehearsal director of Hong Kong Ballet The Hong Kong Ballet (香港芭蕾舞團) is Hong Kong's leading professional ballet company, and also the famous group for Classical Ballet, since it founded in 1979. and a teacher and choreographer cho·re·o·graph v. cho·re·o·graphed, cho·re·o·graph·ing, cho·re·o·graphs v.tr. 1. To create the choreography of: choreograph a ballet. 2. for the Academy of Performing Arts in Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. , started as artistic consultant in February. His three-year contract as artistic director begins May 1. "This is a treasure I am inheriting," Hughes says of the company that has been led by Poll since 1967. "It has had a lot of recognition. I have to respect what made it a success. I am following in the path of an artistic director who is quite a recognized choreographer. "I am looking forward to having Heinz around," he continues. "If he wants to choreograph cho·re·o·graph v. cho·re·o·graphed, cho·re·o·graph·ing, cho·re·o·graphs v.tr. 1. To create the choreography of: choreograph a ballet. 2. , revive his works, or watch rehearsals, the door is open. Changes will be made, but I am not going to do anything irrational." Hughes, 46, began his career as an apprentice with the Joffrey Ballet Joffrey Ballet, one of the major American dance companies. It was founded in New York City in 1954 by the dancer-choreographer Robert Joffrey. From 1956 to 1964 it made yearly tours of the United States. . He danced with Cleveland Ballet from 1981 to 1992, then worked as a choreographer, teacher, and artistic associate. He is married to former Cleveland Ballet dancer Pamela Reyman. Paul G. Lowe, president of the Ohio Ballet board of trustees board of trustees Politics The posse of thugs who oversee an institution's administration. See Board of directors. , says that Hughes's background made him the unanimous choice of the seven-member search committee. "We thought he would respect what Ohio Ballet is and add another dimension," he explains. "This board is not dictatorial. We will give him a large degree of artistic freedom to put his stamp on the company." About half of the artistic director's salary is paid by the University of Akron Enrollment in fall 2006 was 23,539 students.[1] The school offers more than 200 undergraduate degrees [2] and 100 graduate degrees [3]. The University's best-known program is its College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, which is located in a , where Ohio Ballet is in residence. Hughes is expected to be involved in the development of additional studio facilities and to take an active role in expanding outreach programs. During the search process, nine candidates were brought to Akron to teach company class. Xochitl Tejeda de Cerda, the company's senior ballerina, says Hughes had the "best chemistry" with the dancers. "He taught a class. It was wonderful," she said. "He had a lot of interesting things to say that went along with the company's history and background. I'm so happy the committee made this decision." |
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