Houston Ballet's Ben Stevenson Academy is a ballet training school affiliated with the Houston Ballet . The academy is housed in Houston Ballet Center for Dance in Houston, Texas .
6-594: During the 1950s, Houston Ballet Academy was established under the leadership of Tatiana Semenova , a former dancer with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo . In July 2003, Houston Ballet Academy was renamed Houston Ballet's Ben Stevenson Academy in honor of Ben Stevenson , former artistic director of the professional company and director of the academy. Shelly Power has been the Academy's director. Children age seven and older may audition for admission into Levels 1-8 of
12-806: A group called the Foxhole Ballet to tour military installations in Europe and Africa with the USO . While performing in Rome, Italy on a bomb-damaged stage, she severed the cartilage in her knee and fractured her arm. Unable to dance any longer, in 1946 Semenova moved to the U.S. to begin her teaching career at Carnegie Hall 's School of Dance. In 1950, she formed the American Youth Ballet in Baton Rouge, Louisiana . In 1954, Semenova moved
18-587: The American Youth Ballet to Houston, Texas . The following year, the newly formed Houston Foundation for Ballet asked her to help found the Houston Ballet Academy, which still exists today. She was director of the academy for 11 years. In 1968, Semenova formed her own company, Ballet of Houston, which thrived until the mid-1980s. After the company disbanded, Semenova continued to teach privately until her death in 1996. Semenova
24-668: The Houston Ballet company. 29°54′04″N 95°37′17″W / 29.901196°N 95.621352°W / 29.901196; -95.621352 Tatiana Semenova Tatiana Semenova (July 17, 1920–September 24, 1996) was a Russian -born ballet dancer and dance teacher. She was the founding director of the Houston Ballet Academy . Semenova was born in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg ), Russia, but moved with her family to Paris, France when she
30-468: The Main School program. Auditions are held twice a year. Students follow a structured sequence of training stages designed to increase their technical skills, stamina and discipline in accordance with their age and physical development. Houston Ballet II (HBII) is the top level and pre-professional division of the Academy, and students attend daily class taught by instructors from both the Academy and
36-648: Was five. At the age of seven, Semenova began studying with Mathilde Kschessinska . After several years of practice, Semenova made her dancing debut at the age of 11 with a Russian opera company formed in London . The next year she began her formal ballet career as a member of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo , touring the United States and South America . In 1937 Semenova joined the Opéra russe à Paris as its premiere danseuse . During World War II , she formed
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