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Tuesday, November 27, 2018, is Giving Tuesday!

#GivingTuesday is a day where groups of individuals, communities and organizations around the world connect for one common purpose: to celebrate and encourage giving.

At New Haven Ballet you are an integral part of a tremendous community and our working together is truly impactful to so many lives. Your support makes it possible for us to achieve our Mission of providing the greater New Haven Community with exceptional classical ballet training, performances, and outreach programs, which nurture appreciation of ballet and foster the joy of dance.

In fact last year 6,679 children and adults experienced dance through our pre-professional dance training, recreational dance classes, performances, and community programs, including:

  • Approximately 500 children, teens and adults who studied classical ballet through NHB’s School and Outreach Programs; and
  • Eight performances — four public performances of The Nutcracker at the historic Shubert Theater and a Nutcracker matinee for school groups, the Spring Performance at the Shubert Theater featuring students from NHB School and our Shared Ability program, a performance at ACES ECA featuring children in our in-school DanceAIR program, and a performance by the NHB Company of advanced students and pre-professional dancers at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas.

Your support makes it possible for us to achieve this. Please consider lending your time or making a monetary Gift to NHB’s Annual Appeal!

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Simone Messmer and Stephen Hanna star in NHB’s The Nutracker. Photo: Thomas Giroir Photography (c) 2018

NHB is thrilled to announce that Simone Messmer and Stephen Hanna will return to star as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier in NHB’s 2018 Nutcracker!

Simone Messmer:

Born in Minneapolis, Minn., Simone Messmer began studying dance at the age of nine at Ballet Arts Minnesota. At 14, she continued her training at The HARID Conservatory in Boca Raton, Fla., and was awarded the Jeannot B. Cerrone Award for Excellence in Dance. At 16, she resumed her training at Ballet Arts Minnesota under the direction of Bonnie Mathis. Messmer participated in American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive Program in 2001 and joined ABT Studio Company in that same year.

Messmer danced with ABT for over a decade, rising to the rank of soloist in 2010. While in the company, Messmer originated major roles in new works by Alexei Ratmansky such as Firebird, Symphony #9, On the Dnieper, as well as by Christopher Wheeldon and Benjamin Millepied. Her extraordinary range extends from Twyla Tharp’s Baker’s Dozen to Giselle’s Myrtha. Messmer was awarded the Leonore Annenberg Arts Fellowship in 2010.

Messmer joined San Francisco Ballet in 2013 performing principal roles in Balanchine’s Agon and Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet, and Ratmansky’s From Foreign Lands and Chamber Symphony. Other major roles included “The Man I Love” in Balanchine’s Who Cares?, The Firebird in Passokov’s The Firebird, and appearances in works by Mark Morris and Liam Scarlett.

She joined Miami City Ballet as a principal in 2015.

Stephen Hanna:

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he trained under Roberto Munoz, Mr. Hanna entered the School of American Ballet (SAB) and studied with esteemed teachers Stanley Williams, Andre Kamervsky, and Richard Rapp. At SAB Mr. Hanna was awarded the Mae L. Wein Award for outstanding promise. Mr. Hanna became an apprentice with New York City Ballet in 1997, and later that year hey joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet. Mr. Hanna was promoted to the rank of soloist in February 2004 and in January 2005 he was promoted to principal dancer. He has performed principal roles in ballet by Peter Martins, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Richard Tanner, and Albert Evans.

Mr. Hanna has appeared in the movies Center Stage (2000), Disney Royals (2017), and Forever (2014), in addition to several Broadway productions, including Billy Elliot (2008), Silence the Musical (off Broadway 2011), On the Town (2014), An American in Paris (2015), and Hello Dolly (2017).

 

 

OUR MISSION

To provide the greater New Haven Community with exceptional classical ballet training, performances, and outreach programs, that nurture appreciation of ballet and foster the joy of dance.

On October 31, 2020, NHB’s Board of Directors adopted the following Diversity and Inclusion Statement:

New Haven Ballet celebrates those who aspire to excellence in classical ballet. A culture of creativity is the core of our work and diversity promotes innovation. The arts can provide powerful life-changing experiences that prepare students and impact audiences to lead more successful, meaningful and culturally rich lives. The arts can also prove to be an important platform for social change. At New Haven Ballet we are passionate about creating an inclusive dance environment and performances that promote and value diversity and inclusion. We will continue to strive to increase diversity in age, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, and perspective, which will improve and strengthen our work.

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