“I’m a firm believer in there being more than one path in the ballet world,” says Carly Wheaton. “And from what I’ve learned, there definitely is.” Carly, OBT’s newest soloist, learned early to tune into her instincts— and follow them. Captivated by a performance of The Nutcracker at age 7, Carly dove into ballet, first… Read More

Prop Artist & Videographer Sumi Wu works tirelessly behind the scenes to bring Oregon Ballet Theatre’s set pieces to life. For Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sumi is working to rebuild and paint the original scrim from the world premiere in 2006. PART 1: PREPPING THE SCRIM You’re watching Sumi Wu re-create a scrim for A Midsummer… Read More

Over the last year, our Board of Trustees has strengthened the processes by which it stewards, oversees, resources, and champions OBT. Working with nonprofit legal counsel at Stoel Rives, the Good Governance project has resulted in new by-laws, articles of incorporation, job descriptions, and policy manual. Five impressive community leaders have recently joined our Board,… Read More

Every morning during rehearsal periods, OBT convenes for Company Class, designed to perfect dancers’ technique and physical and artistic qualities, in one of the dance studios at its current headquarters in South Portland. And every morning, Irina Golberg is at the piano. Irina never formally trained to be a ballet accompanist while studying piano at… Read More

Michelle Manzanales is the rare dance artist with multiple talents in her field— and yet she almost followed a different path. We wanted to know how her multifaceted perspective influenced the creation of Mirror, Mirror, her world premiere for OBT, which casts an eye on our lives’ priorities, complexities, and the exquisiteness of dancers. What… Read More