Today we’d like to introduce you to Kirt & Linda Hathaway.
Hi Kirt & Linda, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hathaway Academy of Ballet “Lessons of a Lifetime”
The Hathaway Academy of Ballet was established in June 2001 by directors Kirt and Linda Hathaway and is located in the heart of Collin County, Texas. The academy is the official school of Collin County Ballet Theatre. Both Kirt & Linda are former members of the original Dallas Ballet. Their extensive professional dancing and teaching careers span over thirty years and has led them throughout the United States and abroad. Since opening the academy doors in 2001, the academy teaches the proper fundamentals of dance technique for all ages. Serving the Collin County communities and the North Dallas area, the Hathaway Academy of Ballet has become one of the premier ballet academies in the North Texas region.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Owning and operating your own business does not come without trials and tribulations… Hathaway Academy of Ballet & Collin County Ballet Theatre celebrating our 20-year Anniversary in 2022 shows that we are fortunate to celebrate this landmark… Over this time, we have faced several relocations, various economic downturns, the commercial real estate ever-shifting landscape, and like everyone the pandemic brought an extreme shift how families select their children’s activities and public engagement. The decrease in the youth population in our area has an effect on enrollment and as well keeping the art of ballet pertinent in our society.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Kirt Hathaway (Executive) Artistic Director
Born in Dallas, Texas, Mr. Hathaway began his formal ballet training in 1973 in Houston, Texas in the Margo Marshall School of Ballet. He is best known in the Dallas area as one of the charter members of Dallas Ballet where he was one of the primary figures in the company. During his time in Dallas Ballet, he developed a reputation as an exciting and dynamic performer. As a student and dancer, he has studied under the guidance of great figures of the dance world such as George Skibine, Marjorie and Maria Tallchief, Ben Stevenson, Ivan Nagy, Fleming Flindt, and Natasha Krassovska. For three decades he has been a nationally and internationally recognized professional dancer, director, teacher, and choreographer.
He is co-artistic director of Collin County Ballet Theatre, a non-profit organization founded in 2001 with a mission of bringing quality professional performances to the Collin County and the North Texas area. He has choreographed and produced many ballets from his classical and original choreographic repertoire for the company.
During his performing career, he was a soloist with Cincinnati Ballet and Houston Ballet and a principal dancer with Ballet de Santiago and an extensive tenure as a principal with Dallas Ballet. He has had the privilege of dancing in ballets of some of the finest choreographers the likes of Alun Jones, Gustavo Mollajoli, Ruth Page, John Cranko and George Balanchine, Cho San Gogh, Ronald Hynd, Ben Stevenson, and Alvin Ailey. His travels as a guest artist have taken him throughout the United States, Canada, Central America, South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
He has served as associate artistic director of Lexington Ballet and artistic director of Little Rock based Ballet Arkansas, a regional professional ballet company. As a choreographer he has staged many ballets from the classical repertoire and created over thirty new works for companies that were under his direction and as an invited guest artist. Known as an educator of dance he has taught for many regional and professional ballet companies a few including the Regional Dance America, Southwest, American College Dance Festival, Tulsa Ballet, Greenville Ballet, Ballet de Santiago, City Ballet of Houston, Kentucky Governors School for the Arts, and Ballet Mississippi. During the academic school year 2000 and 2001, Mr. Hathaway was on faculty at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and director of the college Summer Dance Program. During 2005 2007 & 2016 he was adjunct faculty with Southern Methodist University Meadows School of the Arts Division of Dance. From 2002 until 2011 he was adjunct faculty teaching ballet at the Brookhaven College School of the Arts and was artists in residence in the 2003-04 academic school year. Kirt Hathaway is married to co-artistic director Linda Hathaway and together they are owners of the Hathaway Academy of Ballet and have two sons David & William Hathaway,
Linda Hathaway
Co-Director Director
Ms. Hathaway began her formal ballet training under Larry Boyette in Denver where she performed as a student with the Colorado Ballet. She later joined the Dallas Ballet Academy under the direction of Vivi Flint where she graduated as the honorary recipient of the George Skibine Award. She was the only student of her class that was given a position in the Dallas Ballet under the direction of Fleming Flindt.
While with Dallas Ballet she performed many roles in ballets such as Three Musketeers, Nutcracker, Konservatoret and worked with choreographers Yiri Kylian, Jose Limon to name a few. Ms. Hathaway has performed with the Pennsylvania Ballet, where she performed the ballets of the late George Balanchine, and performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lexington Ballet, and as a principal dancer with Ballet Arkansas.
Ms. Hathaway attended Southern Methodist University as a dance major and is a graduate of the Booker T. Washington High School of Performing and Visual Arts. From 1992 until 2001 she served as Academy Director of the Academy of Ballet Arkansas. She is owner and director of the Hathaway Academy of Ballet with her husband Kirt Hathaway and co-artistic director of Collin County Ballet Theatre and together they have two sons David & William Hathaway. Linda has the wonderful ability to bring the joy ballet to the students and is noted as one of the finest teachers of children and dancers of all ages in the Texas area.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Kirt, spending summers at the lake and participating my school track meets Linda, traveling to many different places for summer vacation and Ballet Intensive in Aspen CO.
Pricing:
- Tuition ranges from $75 to $400 a month. This depends on the number of classes a student takes per week.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hathawayacademyofballet.com
- Instagram: @hathawayballet
Image Credits
Brian Guilliaux
David Jackson
Serkan Sanagar
