Artistic Director
2009-08-11 13:56:03
Hugh Nini founded The Denton Ballet Academy in 1979. He credits his favorite teachers, Arnold Spohr and David Moroni of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, with his foundational training and understanding of the art of classical ballet. While a scholarship student at the Banff Centre for Fine Arts, he was invited to join the Professional Division of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet by the Artistic Director of that company, Arnold Spohr.
Though his training and professional career were interrupted early on by a debilitating automobile accident, Mr. Nini was later able to do limited performing with regional ballet companies in the Southwest. In 1979 he founded the Denton Civic Ballet, and by the end of his eight-year term as its Artistic Director, had choreographed over 30 ballets. This includes his original full length three-act version of the Hans Christian Anderson short story, “The Snow Queen”. Under his directorship, the Denton Civic Ballet was accepted into the National Association for Regional Ballet.
In 1988 Mr. Nini charted a new direction to pursue a more ambitious dream which is now called The Festival Ballet of North Central Texas. Now in his twenty-second year as the Artistic Director of The Festival Ballet of North Central Texas, Mr. Nini has established it as a ballet company with a reputation of excellence and consistency.
Mr. Nini’s students have been accepted to every major Summer Program in North America including School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, The Kirov Academy, Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, and many more. Students from his school, The Denton Ballet Academy, have gone on to dance professionally with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Houston Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Memphis Ballet, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and others. One of Mr. Nini’s first Denton Ballet Academy students, Mark Godden, is now an established international choreographer winning top honors from the International Ballet Competition in Varna, The International Ballet Competition in Helsinki, and a recipient of the Clifford E. Lee Award for Chorography.
Though his training and professional career were interrupted early on by a debilitating automobile accident, Mr. Nini was later able to do limited performing with regional ballet companies in the Southwest. In 1979 he founded the Denton Civic Ballet, and by the end of his eight-year term as its Artistic Director, had choreographed over 30 ballets. This includes his original full length three-act version of the Hans Christian Anderson short story, “The Snow Queen”. Under his directorship, the Denton Civic Ballet was accepted into the National Association for Regional Ballet.
In 1988 Mr. Nini charted a new direction to pursue a more ambitious dream which is now called The Festival Ballet of North Central Texas. Now in his twenty-second year as the Artistic Director of The Festival Ballet of North Central Texas, Mr. Nini has established it as a ballet company with a reputation of excellence and consistency.
Mr. Nini’s students have been accepted to every major Summer Program in North America including School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, The Kirov Academy, Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, and many more. Students from his school, The Denton Ballet Academy, have gone on to dance professionally with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Houston Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Memphis Ballet, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and others. One of Mr. Nini’s first Denton Ballet Academy students, Mark Godden, is now an established international choreographer winning top honors from the International Ballet Competition in Varna, The International Ballet Competition in Helsinki, and a recipient of the Clifford E. Lee Award for Chorography.