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ORG XMIT: *S192ECB6C* Ben Stevenson, O.B.E. of the Texas Ballet Theater, is all smiles at DFW Airport International Terminal D Friday February 29, 2008, during the press conference to announcement the dance group’s invitation to the China Shanghai International Arts Festival in Fall 2008.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ricky Moon\/128710<\/p>\n
Ben Stevenson – artistic director, Houston Ballet \/ undated handout photo<\/p>\n
Kenn Duncan<\/p>\n
Ben Stevenson – artistic director, Houston Ballet \/ undated handout photo<\/p>\n
Jack Mitchell<\/p>\n
Ben Stevenson, long-time artistic director of Houston Ballet, died March 29. Jessica\u00a0Collado , with other artists of Houston Ballet , dances as the Mother Earth figure in the company’s revival of Stevenson\u2019s \u201c Four Last Songs” during the part of the 2024\u20132025 season’s Sparrow program.<\/p>\n
Amitava Sarkar\/Courtesy of Houston Ballet<\/p>\n
Margo McCann, interim managing director and Ben Stevenson, artistic director at Texas Ballet Theatre.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SONYA N. HEBERT\/Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Nikki Mildren and Ben Stevenson at the Texas Ballet Theater’s Tutu Chick Fashion Show and Luncheon at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas on Thursday, November 29, 2012<\/p>\n
Mei-Chun Jau\/Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Ben Stevenson, longtime artistic director of the Houston Ballet<\/a> and Texas Ballet Theater, has died at 89.<\/p>\n The Ben Stevenson Trust<\/a> confirmed the legendary dancer and choreographer’s death on March 29 on its website, calling him a \u201chumble visionary, a true genius\u201d who had a lasting impact on dance while boosting the prominence of ballet companies worldwide. \u00a0<\/p>\n “Stevenson\u2019s profound impact on dance spanned decades and continents, shaping countless careers and elevating ballet companies to global prominence,” reads a statement by the Trust.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Julie Kent, current Houston Ballet artistic director, celebrated Stevenson’s commitment to the art of ballet and dance.<\/p>\n “Ben Stevenson shaped generations of dancers across the globe as a choreographer, teacher, director, mentor and friend,” Kent said\u00a0in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. “He loved dancers and dance, and his belief in and commitment to our art form inspired and influenced every community that he was part of. Houston Ballet is forever indebted to him.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The Houston Ballet also honored Stevenson on social media, calling him a “visionary leader whose artistry shaped our company and inspired generations of dancers and audiences alike.”<\/p>\n Tributes to Stevenson poured out from across the world, including remembrances from the Ballet Nacional de Cuba<\/a>, English National\u00a0Ballet, which posted <\/a>a clip of one of his works, and the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Stevenson was born in Portsmouth, England and trained at London\u2019s Arts Educational School and was a member of the\u00a0Sadler\u2019s Wells Royal Ballet, now the Royal Ballet.<\/p>\n In 1967, Stevenson staged his first production as choreographer with “The Sleeping Beauty,” which featured the legendary ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn. By 1970, Stevenson had moved to the United States and would serve as artistic director and co-director for ballet companies across the country, including the Harkness Ballet in New York, the National Ballet in Washington, D.C., according to the information from the trust.<\/p>\n Stevenson came to Houston in 1976 and joined Houston Ballet as its artistic director, a role he would serve in for the next 27 years.<\/p>\n He’s credited with cultivating the ballet company\u2019s reputation as one of the largest and most respected in the world of dance, according to the trust.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Stevenson helped to shape the company from a regional ballet troupe with 28 dancers to an ensemble of over 50 artists, according to a biographical profile on the Houston Ballet website.<\/p>\n While serving at the Houston company as both director and choreographer, Stevenson also commissioned original productions, staged traditional productions and founded a school for developing dancers, the profile states.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stevenson mentored generations of premier dancers, including Janie Parker, Carols Acosta, Li Cunxin and Lauren Anderson, who became the first African American principal dancer at Houston Ballet in 1990, and who paid tribute to her former teacher on Instagram.<\/p>\n The actress Jane Seymour also paid tribute<\/a> to Stevenson on social media, saying he was a mentor during her early dance career.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In 2003, Stevenson was named artistic director emeritus of Houston Ballet, and the company\u2019s school was renamed the Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy to honor his contributions. Stevenson went on to lead the\u00a0Texas Ballet Theater <\/a>in North Texas with “vision, creativity, and dedication” as the company’s the longest-serving artistic director, according to its website.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stevenson was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stevenson, as played by Bruce Greenwood, was a main character in the 2009 biographical film “Mao’s Last Dancer,” <\/a>which told the story of Li Cunxin, a dancer from China who was chosen to attend a ballet summer school in Houston.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Cary Darling contributed to this report.<\/p>\n