Collaboration Beyond the Stage

Published August 15, 2025

Collaboration Beyond the Stage

Operating a professional ballet company in Reno is by necessity a collaborative effort. It requires working with numerous big city ballet companies, local dance studios, and of course, volunteers. A.V.A. Ballet Theatre, the resident ballet company of the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, performs a full season of ballets throughout the year. Three classical ballets with the Reno Phil are performed at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts and the popular rock ballet Vortex is held during Artown every summer at the Robert Z. Hawkins Amphitheater at the Bartley Ranch Regional Park.

Filer image element — David Huffnire, Ballet West

All of the local corps de ballet dancers in these productions are paid, both for the rehearsal time and the actual performances. The amount of money these dancers receive, however, isn’t enough to live off as a full time career. Most of the local dancers are University of Nevada students or dancers from various dance studios throughout the community.

As Reno grows and A.V.A. Ballet Theatre adds more productions, full time employment of these dancers is a possibility. In the meantime, the best dancers who want to pursue a career in dance must move to a larger city for full time employment. Many A.V.A. Ballet Theatre dancers have relocated to big cities and have enjoyed successful ballet careers with such companies as Ballet West, Richmond Ballet, and the Utah Ballet.

When Alexander Van Alstyne, the artistic director at A.V.A. Ballet Theatre, requires a certain quality of dancer for his ballets he too looks to large city ballet companies for guest principal dancers. Van Alstyne collaborates with ballet companies from all over the country to get the dancers he needs. Guest principal dancers have come to Reno to perform from ballet companies such as the San Francisco Ballet, Ballet West, San Antonio Ballet, Houston Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Diablo Ballet, and many more.

In any given year, Van Alstyne brings in several dozen guest principal dancers. He sees many benefits to having the guest dancers. He can showcase to a Reno audience large city talent; these performers work with the local corps de ballet and help them improve their dance technique, and it bolsters his relationship with the various ballet companies from across the country. The guest principal dancers love coming to Reno. They know we draw big audiences, they love performing to enthusiastic crowds, and they are impressed by the level of professionalism they see within the company.

A.V.A. Ballet Theatre has had an especially good working relationship with Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah. It helps that Van Alstyne began dancing with Ballet West at eight years of age and continued into adulthood. He knows most of the artistic staff very well. Ballet West is one of the largest and most prestigious ballet companies in the country. Being so large, they can make available guest principal dancers easier than smaller organizations.

Collaboration with the local ballet studios is also essential to the success of a professional ballet company. As the Pioneer’s resident ballet company, A.V.A. Ballet Theatre has open call auditions for all of their productions. They take the best dancers in the area for each ballet——regardless of their home ballet studio. The Conservatory of Movement is a major source of local dancers for Van Alstyne. The spring and fall classical ballets require a local cast of about fifty dancers and performers each and The Nutcracker has a cast of well over 125. In A.V.A. Ballet Theatre’s upcoming presentation of The Little Mermaid the dancer performing as the prince is A.V.A. Ballet Theatre alumnus David Huffmire who is currently a principal dancer with Ballet West.

Collaboration with the volunteers is absolutely mandatory. “Without the volunteers my ballet productions just wouldn’t be viable,” said Van Alstyne. “I’m so grateful for all they do.” Volunteers do a little of everything for the ballet company. These tasks include costume creation in the wardrobe department, hair and makeup artists, chaperones (they need to keep track of the dozens of children in the cast backstage at the Pioneer), prop transportation and setup, character parts, the Pioneers ushers, and marketing and public relations (that would be me). For ballets not presented at the Pioneer Center such as the rock ballet at Bartley Ranch, they need additional volunteers for the bar, gate, ushers, parking, and cleanup (that would be me again).

Putting on a successful ballet is truly a collaborative effort. There are many moving parts but it seems everyone is a passionate participant and it all comes together when the curtain goes up.

Steve Trounday is a board member at A.V.A. Ballet Theatre, the resident ballet company of the Pioneer Center. A.V.A. Ballet Theatre will be performing The Little Mermaid September 20 and 21 at the Pioneer Center. Laura Jackson will be conducting the Reno Phil.