Based at the Ballet Center of Houston in Cy-Fair, nonprofit organization Houston Repertoire Ballet provides a space for local dance students to prepare for professional careers in ballet.

About the program

Nationally recognized teachers and directors Gilbert Rome and Victoria Vittum founded the nonprofit in 1995 shortly after the Ballet Center of Houston training school launched. Houston Repertoire Ballet is a performing arts center for students who want to perform.

“So, Ballet Center of Houston doesn't do any performing. They just study and learn,” Vittum said. “HRB is the performing outlet for the students that are talented in that and want to perform, ... and either go on with their career.”

Vittum directs the school and serves as the artistic director on the nonprofit side. She said the nonprofit accepts 50-60 students each year from the Ballet Center of Houston. The program continues to grow and build on its three-decade history.




“In the beginning, we were performing at festivals outside and nursing homes, and we weren't in a theater; and we just kept building and building until it grew into what it is today,” Vittum said. “And now we have dancers that are dancing all over the world that we've produced.”

What to expect

During the fall semester, Houston Repertoire Ballet's sole focus is their annual production of “The Nutcracker.” For the last 24 years, the organization has performed at Tomball High School. However, this year, the organization will stage their production at Cy-Fair ISD’s new Visual and Performing Arts Center.

Being at this larger venue will allow Houston Repertoire Ballet's dancers to elevate their performance and bring a refreshed angle to the “The Nutcracker,” Vittum said. This includes accommodating the organization's in-house orchestra, which formed last year.




Tickets will be on sale starting in October.

Other than this annual holiday performance, the organization has a showcase called “The Choreography Project” each May in which the more experienced dancers choreograph a performance for their peers, Vittum said.

“The older, more experienced dancers in HRB choreograph new works for their peers, and they learn that process of how you create a ballet, and they have to learn how to rehearse and coach. ... It's really an exciting time for the kids to get that experience,” Vittum said.