Indiana Ballet Theatre Emphasizes Quality
The Indiana Ballet Theatre packed its leotards and tutus in 2008 and moved to Merrillville.
The 28-year-old troupe that has been based in Crown Point for most of its existence will operate from Merrillville for the next two to three years. The reason for the move is so an old building in Crown Point can be completely renovated to eventually house the organization – hopefully forevermore.
“We are currently renovating the old Paramount Nurses Home on Main Street in Crown Point, and it will be a long project to complete,” says Gloria Tuohy, executive artistic director of the Indiana Ballet Theatre.
“It will ultimately be called the Classical Arts Centre, and will host all performing arts. Our ballet theater is a semi-major organization with a goal of becoming a major organization. Having a beautiful headquarters will help us toward that dream.”
In the meantime, the Indiana Ballet Theatre will be housed in Merrillville at 8888 Louisiana St., just off Mississippi Street. The temporary headquarters is also called the Classical Arts Centre.
The Indiana Ballet Theatre began in 1980 under Tuohy’s direction, and her overall career has spanned more than 40 years of professional dance, teaching, choreography and costume design.
“I put a lot of emphasis on quality – I teach dance correctly,” she says. “I come from Europe where they stress quality in dance. In fact, I took a group of my students to England, Germany and France during the summer of 2007 to view professional ballets, and witness first-hand what other countries spend on the arts.”
The current Indiana Ballet Theatre is a company of 40 dancers, but the organization has 200 students who are enrolled in instructional classes.
“We are an advocate for quality education in the arts, specifically the performing arts with ballet in particular,” Tuohy says. “But we do all the other dance disciplines as well, including musical theater, modern, tap, jazz and hip hop. We have students from the ages of 3 and up.”
Tuohy says the 40 members of the performing ballet troupe range in age from 11 to 40, and most are dancers who want to keep getting better.
“Some will go on to universities for dance degrees,” she says. “Others aspire to be professionals in the trade.”
As for performances, the Indiana Ballet Theatre schedules three productions each year. The 2008-09 season lineup includes Coppelia, which involves a toy shop; Gaite Parisienne, which is set in a French restaurant; and the famed Nutcracker Ballet holiday show.
“Our version of Coppelia will be staged at the Star Plaza in Merrillville, which is a beautiful venue,” Tuohy says. “The other two ballets will be performed at various sites throughout the community. This is an exciting time for the Indiana Ballet Theatre, and things will become even more exciting once we eventually move into our permanent headquarters in Crown Point.”
