Houston Ballet’s 50th anniversary celebration kicks off in September with Giselle, a two-act production deeply rooted in the company’s history. The 19th century Romantic ballet opened the 1967 season of what was then a preprofessional troupe under the leadership of Nina Popova, and the performance marked a turning point for the organization’s future as a world-class ensemble based here in the heart of Houston. We present a by-the-numbers look at Houston Ballet’s season-opening production—and the last five decades that got them here.
T·H·R·E·E
Number of 40-foot-tall containers it took to get Giselle scenery to Houston from Italy
5
Number of artistic directors that Houston Ballet has seen, including Tatiana Semenova, Nina Popova, James Clouser, Ben Stevenson OBE and, presently, Stanton Welch AM
2,100
Number of pairs of pointe shoes the ballet provides to company women each season
1998
Year the longest-standing company member, principal Ian Casady, joined the company as a corps de ballet member
$200,000
The ballet’s estimated budget in its first year (compared to its current $33.9 million annual budget)
61
Number of dancers in the company currently, compared to the 16 in 1969
50%
Percentage of the annual budget that comes from community support outside of ticket sales
250
Number of guests who will join Houston Ballet Sept. 6 for the Onstage Dinner following the opening-night performance of Giselle
$50,306
Approximate total spent on the first production of Giselle in 1967
10,231
Projected number of attendees for the season-opening production of Giselle in September
1987
The year that the Wortham Theater Center opened and one of its two theaters, the Alice and George Brown Theater, became home to Houston Ballet
$1,335,694
Amount spent on the 2016 world premiere of Stanton Welch’s Giselle, including costs for scenery, props, lighting and wardrobe, as well as the backstage crew and the dressers
60-80
Number of hours it takes to complete a single tutu for Giselle from patterning to finish
147
Number of ballets the company has commissioned in its 50 years
$7.50
Highest ticket price during the ballet’s first season
Photography by: Amitava Sarkar/Houston Ballet