Artistic Director

 

Richard Steinert
Known for his innovative and collaborative style, Richard Steinert has works in the repertories in companies across the United States.  Since his inaugural season as Artistic Director in 2007 he has held the attention of the ballet and arts community through a series of critically acclaimed performances and projects directed at broadening the experience of the dance enthusiast.  One of the hallmarks of Mr. Steinert’s style is the graceful marriage of theatre and dance and the 2008 premier of his Unprocessed Materials brought the Pensacola audiences their first taste of that experience.  Another evening of premier works, The Outrageous Dance Project, brought the considerable talents of the theatre students of the University of West Florida together with those of the Ballet Pensacola dancers providing a platform for the presentation of Steinert’s works such as the provocative After Foreshadowing and his popular Flipside.  Through such creative and collaborative endeavors Mr. Steinert and Ballet Pensacola are in step with the vibrancy of the city of Pensacola and the new dance community at-large.  Under his direction, Ballet Pensacola draws professional dancers from around the globe, creating a diverse and provocative performing organization.

As the director of Ballet Arkansas, Ballet Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut and as a founding director of Connecticut Contemporary Ballet Theatre, Mr. Steinert has a long creative history with more than thirty original ballets in his repertoire.  His full length Nutcracker has been in the national repertoire for more than 20 years, and his productions such as Dracula, Clue, Weisburg Suite and Quakes continue to receive critical acclaim.    His choreographic works have been sanctioned by such funding organizations as the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Ford Foundation.  He has held seats on the Board Directors of the Midwestern Arts Alliance,  SWRBA, the Alcoa National Choreographic awards, and was appointed by  Bill Clinton to a seat on his Arts-In-Education committee.

Mr. Steinert has opened the door for tomorrow’s dancers through the Ballet Pensacola Academy where hundreds of young dancers are able to experience the joy of dance for themselves. Many of the dancers in Ballet Pensacola have received their training at the Ballet Pensacola Academy and many more find additional opportunities at other distinguished dance companies and training facilities.  As a guest instructor at many pre-professional programs, Mr. Steinert is a sought after master teacher throughout the United States.  He is currently an adjunct faculty member at the University of West Florida and a Scholar-In-Residence at The Bishops School in La Jolla, California. email