It's officially announced! Join us in welcoming Ryan T. Jolicoeur-Nye as our first Artistic Director. Read our press release:
Bentonville, AR (October 14, 2017) — Margie C. Bordovsky, Founder and President of the NWA Ballet Theatre Board of Directors, announced today that Ryan T. Jolicoeur-Nye has been selected as the Artistic Director of NWA Ballet Theatre, the region’s premiere professional ballet company.
NWA Ballet Theatre, a 501(c)(3) not-profit entity, was established in 2011 by Margie Bordovsky, Mariah Bordovsky, and the late Peggie Wallis to offer professional quality performances locally without residents having to travel several hours away. Since its founding, Margie Bordovsky’s passion and creative energy guided and shaped the development of NWA Ballet Theatre, along with the invaluable talents of Emalie Coen, but she knew a talented Artistic Director would be needed to fulfill the long-term vision for the company. Mrs. Bordovsky stated, “We’ve had success doing projects with the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra (Carnival of the Animals and the Carnegie Hall Education Series), MasterSeries performances of Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, as well as our outreach programs, but I knew we had to find an innovative ballet professional to take us to the next level. To guide this search, our Board of Director’s established very high standards for this position. Aside from extensive experience dancing with a major ballet company, the candidate needed the skills to engage and coach contracted dancers, manage productions, choreograph, and properly reflect the professional image and core values of the company. From the beginning, we felt it was important to ensure all NWA Ballet Theatre projects would remain appropriate for families, so we sought a candidate who could produce new dynamic works, as well as the ballet classics, while sharing our values and high standards. Ryan wonderfully fulfills all of our requirements and we feel very fortunate to have someone of his caliber lead NWA Ballet Theatre into the spotlight.”
Mr. Jolicoeur-Nye is originally from central Maine and began his training at the age of 16. After a year of studying under renowned Kirov dancer, Andrei Bossov, he joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Professional Division on full scholarship. During his time in Winnipeg, Ryan had the opportunity to work with many international choreographers as well as create three of his own works. While still a student, he danced several performances the with company, including soloist roles in The Nutcracker. Upon graduating from RWB, Ryan was asked to attend the Banff Summer Arts Festival where he performed the principal role in Fernand Nault’s Carmina Burana. Ryan would go on to dance for Festival Ballet of Providence, Eugene Ballet, and Ballet Idaho where he was promoted to Principal dancer in 2011. In 2012, Ryan joined Kansas City Ballet where he danced several principal roles, including Jerome Robbin’s Fancy Free, Septime Webre’s Alice in Wonderland, Michael Pinks Dracula, as well as Devon Carney’s Swan Lake, Giselle and The Nutcracker. Ryan has performed as a guest artist with Oklahoma City Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Boise Dance Co-op, and Festival Ballet of Providence. He has performed works by choreographers such as George Balanchine, Vicente Nebrada, Devon Carney, Hans Van Manen, Rudi Van Dantzig, Mark Godden, John Neumeier, Helen Pickett, Yuri Possokhov, Jorden Morris, Ma Cong, Viktor Plotnikov, Robert Mills and many more.
As a choreographer, he has created ballets for Ballet Idaho, Kansas City Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, and the Kansas City Dance Festival. He has also had his work performed by dancers from companies all across the U.S. and Europe including Alberta Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, and the Finnish National Ballet. Ryan’s work has been presented on stage alongside choreographers such as Christopher Wheeldon, George Balanchine, Marco Goecke, Ma Cong, Mathew Neenan, Garrett Smith, Davide Bombana and Douglas Lee. Recently, Ryan was named “Outstanding Choreographer” at the 2017 Youth American Grand Prix where he was recognized for his Kansas City Ballet School piece, Concerto 21. His choreography has been featured in KC Studio magazine and was recently performed by Niigata Ballet (Japan). In February 2017, his solo The Painter, was presented at the alumni gala for The Harid Conservatory. In addition to his role with NWA Ballet Theatre, Ryan will be serving as second company manager with Kansas City Ballet.
Bordovsky began talks with Jolicoeur-Nye in June and then invited him to visit the area and interview with the Board of Directors. By the first week of August an agreement was made. " I am thrilled to accept the position of Artistic Director for NWA Ballet Theatre, a company centered around a wonderful community,” says JolicoeurNye, “It has always been a dream of mine to become an Artistic Director and I can't think of a better place to begin that voyage. This is a position that comes with great responsibility and one that I take very seriously. As the company looks to the future I am dedicated to expanding the reach of NWA Ballet Theatre, to the entire northwest region of Arkansas, from our company performances to our educational outreach programs. It is my goal to create and foster a world-class ballet company for the people of our community, spreading my love and passion of the arts to all. " I am stepping into a wonderful organization full of passionate and devoted ambassadors for the community and I look forward to mirroring that devotion. I plan to serve Northwest Arkansas with diligence and virtue in all that NWA Ballet Theatre has to offer."
The NWA Ballet Theatre organization hopes the community will join in Jolicoeur-Nye’s enthusiasm and become passionate ballet patrons. Those who are interested in volunteering or want to become private or corporate sponsors can visit NWA Ballet Theatre’s website at www.nwaBalletTheatre.org for information on becoming part of The Barre Society (guild) or a Friend of the Ballet. “There are so many ways to be a part of this magic,” says Bordovsky, “and we are right here in your own backyard, Northwest Arkansas!”
Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye is married to Rachael Nye, a former principal ballet dancer and Day Program Principal at Kansas City Ballet. They have two children, Amelie and Isaac.
NWA Ballet Theatre will be performing as guest artists for The Nutcracker produced by NWA Conservatory of Classical Ballet on December 2 and 3 at The Arend Arts Center. To purchase tickets, you can go online to www.tututix.com/NWAConservatoryOfBallet.