Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen announced today that former San Francisco Ballet Principal Dancer, Evelyn Cisneros-Legate, will lead Boston Ballet School’s Marblehead studio as Principal starting January 2010.
“We are thrilled to have Evelyn join Boston Ballet School’s accomplished team of faculty under the direction of Margaret Tracey,” said Nissinen. “Her extensive career and teaching experience, strength in a diverse repertoire, and her tremendous ability to mentor and guide students will make her a perfect fit to support the mission of excellence and access at Boston Ballet School.”
Cisneros-Legate will lead the staff at Boston Ballet School’s Marblehead studio under the direction of Nissinen and Boston Ballet School Director Margaret Tracey. The Marblehead studios are located at the Legg’s Hill Road YMCA, which opened in February 2009. Boston Ballet School is the official school of Boston Ballet and the largest professional ballet school in North America with more than 10,000 students each year and four locations in Boston, Newton, Norwell and Marblehead. Cisneros-Legate will oversee the studio’s programs which include dance classes for all ages – from pre-school through adult – at all experience levels. She will also lead a wide variety of education and outreach programs for the Marblehead community, including Boston Ballet’s acclaimed Citydance and Adaptive Dance programs.
Cisneros-Legate danced with San Francisco Ballet for 23 years and was one of the most prominent American ballerinas. During her illustrious career, she danced leading roles in a diverse repertoire of classical and contemporary works and had numerous ballets created for her. She has toured the world performing with San Francisco Ballet and as a guest artist with various companies.
Upon her retirement, she worked as artistic consultant with San Francisco Ballet, helped form the San Francisco Ballet Center for Dance Education and served as its Ballet Education Coordinator for seven years. She also was Academy Director and Company Artistic Director for Ballet Pacifica in Irvine, California. Cisneros-Legate has taught extensively at some of the most prestigious dance schools and summer programs across the country including Boston Ballet School, Kansas City Ballet, and City Ballet in San Diego, and has staged works for Val Caniparoli and Michael Smuin.
Cisneros-Legate has been featured on the covers of Dance magazine, Ballet News, and Hispanic Magazine. She has received numerous awards for her community activism and artistic achievements. She holds honorary doctorate degrees from Mills College and the University of California at Monterey Bay, co-authored the book “Ballet for Dummies” and taught at the University of California Irvine. She is married to former San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Stephen Legate, who is opening a Chiropractic practice in downtown Boston. They are relocating with their son and daughter to the North Shore community of Marblehead.
For more information about Boston Ballet School:
http://www.bostonballet.org/school.html
Since 1963, Boston Ballet has been one of the leading dance companies in the world on stage, in the studio and in the community. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen and Executive Director Barry Hughson, the Company maintains an internationally acclaimed repertoire and the largest ballet school in North America, Boston Ballet School.
Boston Ballet maintains a repertoire of classical, neo-classical and contemporary works, ranging from full-length story ballets to new works by some of today's finest choreographers. Boston Ballet's second company, Boston Ballet II, is comprised of pre-professional dancers who gain experience by performing with the Company and independently, presenting lecture-demonstrations and special programs to audiences throughout the Northeast.
Boston Ballet School, the official school of Boston Ballet, has a long-standing dedication to excellence and access and reaches more than 10,000 students ages 2-adult each year through Boston Ballet School classes, Summer Dance Workshop, Summer Dance Program, Citydance, Taking Steps, and Adaptive Dance. The wide array of dance programs are held at four studio locations in Boston, Newton, Norwell and Marblehead, as well as community centers and in Boston Public Schools.
Boston Ballet gratefully acknowledges the following institutional partners:
State Street Corporation, 2009 Presenting Sponsor, The Nutcracker
Jane’s Trust
Massachusetts Cultural Council
National Endowment for the Arts
Boston Organ & Piano, Official Piano Supplier of Boston Ballet
