OBT Principal Dancer Anne Mueller Retires

Oregon Ballet Theatre Principal Dancer Anne Mueller will conclude a 15 year career with Oregon Ballet Theatre in May, upon the completion of Song and Dance, OBT's annual spring performance series in Portland's Newmark Theatre. Her closing performance will be particularly apropos, since it highlights Anne's work with three choreographers she has worked closely with during her career: Trey McIntyre, Nicolo Fonte and of course, Christopher Stowell. Mueller will assist Christopher Stowell on the artistic staff, serving as repetiteur, teacher, and project manager for touring and special projects.

Anne Mueller received her training from the Washington School of Ballet and from Dame Sonia Arova and Thor Sutowski at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. She received additional training with The Kirov Academy, Houston Ballet Academy (scholarship), the Joffrey Workshop and the School of American Ballet. Ms. Mueller joined OBT in 1996 after three seasons with the Alabama Ballet making her, along with Alison Roper, one of the two longest standing OBT artists. During her time with the company, she has most recently danced featured roles in works by George Balanchine, Nicolo Fonte, James Kudelka, Trey McIntyre, Yuri Possokhov, Jerome Robbins, Christopher Stowell, Twyla Tharp, and Christopher Wheeldon.

She has worked closely with Artistic Director Christopher Stowell on the creation of new ballets, both as a dancer and as an assistant. Among them are Adin, Eyes on You, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Peter and the Wolf (assistant), Tolstoy's Waltz, Rite of Spring (dancer and assistant) and Holiday Revue (dancer and assistant).

Mueller was a co-founder of Trey McIntyre Project, serving as Managing Director from 2004 to 2006. She toured as a dancer with the company during the summers of 2005-2007, appearing in venues/festivals including the Vail International Dance Festival, Aspen Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and the Wolf Trap Park for the Performing Arts, receiving critical praise in the New York Times, among others. She served as the Trey McIntyre Project's Director of Outreach in 2007 and was awarded an emeritus position on TMP's Board of Directors in 2010.

Ms. Mueller's first choreographic works (three co-creations with Vanessa Thiessen) appeared as part of past OBT seasons under the Artistic Direction of James Canfield. Ms. Mueller's choreography was selected for Ballet Builders 2009 in New York, NY. In response to the work showcased, Tim Martin of Dance Europe wrote,

"Mueller captures the mood without being literal and
we get to enjoy her dancers being sad or playful or just wonderfully kinetic..."

Her choreography appears in the repertoire of Oregon Ballet Theatre, Arova Contemporary Ballet, Ballet Victoria and the Alabama Ballet. Ms. Mueller holds the position of Artistic Coordinator at OBT and teaches in the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre.

One of Mueller's key accomplishments is her work as repetiteur for ballets created by Christopher Stowell (Diablo Ballet and OBT), Trey McIntyre (OBT) and Nicolo Fonte (OBT, The Washington Ballet, and Ballet West). A repetiteur is responsible for recording and replicating a specific piece of choreography, often traveling around the country to "set" the piece on a new company.

Artistic Director Christopher Stowell says of Mueller,

"Anne has been a vital member of OBT for 15 years and her retirement will significantly alter our artistic identity. She rose through the ranks of the company to become one of its most exemplary leading dancers with a large and varied repertoire. Anne's talent and drive have been an inspiration to me as a choreographer and I will miss the excitement she brings to the stage. Happily she will be joining the artistic staff as full time artistic coordinator and continue to be an important part of our organization."

Reflecting on her career, Mueller said,

"I feel immensely fortunate that people are interested in watching me dance.
I deeply love to do it and it has made my life incredibly rich to find a place where I get to spend my days doing what I love most. That I have been able to do this with the support of a wonderful organization, within a group of incredible artists, to the steps of great choreographers, to the music of fantastic musicians, under the direction of great leadership and for a community I cherish has been a dream."

Mueller's farewell performance will be Sunday, May 2nd, at 2:00 pm in Portland's Newmark Theatre as OBT concludes its season with Song and Dance, featuring Nicolo Fonte's Left Unsaid, Balanchine's Square Dance, Trey McIntyre's Speak and Christopher Stowell's hugely popular Eyes on You. For tickets, call 503.2.BALLET or visit www.obt.org <http://www.obt.org> .