Ballet West Principal Artist Christopher Ruud will teach an open master class for intermediate and advanced dancers this evening, September 12th. The class begins at 7:00pm and will conclude at 9:00pm. This is the second class in Ballet Arkansas’ Master Class series. Son of respected dancer and choreographer Tomm Ruud, Christopher is proud to be responsible for his father’s works. Christopher has set and performed his fathers ballet’s, such as Mobile, for companies including Stuttgart Ballet, Ballet West, Joffrey Ballet Co. and now Ballet Arkansas.

During his time in Arkansas, Mr. Ruud will be setting Mobile on the company to be performed in Ballet Arkansas’ spring concert, Spring into Motion, at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre in April 2013.

The master class will be offered at the Ballet Arkansas Studio at Shuffles and Ballet II.  There is a $25 class fee or a $15 observer fee. Space is limited, please email us at info@balletarkansas.org to reserve your spot.

A native of San Francisco, Christopher began his training at the San Francisco Ballet School. There he studied for seven years before training at the University of Utah Ballet Department. Christopher joined Ballet West in 1998, was promoted to Soloist in 2001 and Principal in 2004. Since joining the company Christopher has toured throughout the United States and abroad including multi-city tours in China and in Scotland at the Edinburgh International Festival.

Some of his notable roles include Petruchio in John Cranko’s The Taming of the Shrew, the Second Pas de Deux in Antony Tudor’s The Leaves Are Fading, Prince Seigfried in Swan Lake, Christopher Bruce’s Ghost Dances, William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet .  Christopher has performed the principal roles in multiple versions of such classics as Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Cinderella , Don Quixote and Le Corsaire Pas de Deux.  He has also danced leading roles in works by Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, Jiri Kylian, Antony Tudor, Val Caniparoli, Hans van Manen and Nicolo Fonte.

Christopher’s favorite Balanchine credits include Liza in Who Cares?, Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream,  Serenade, Melancholic and Sanguinic in The Four Temperaments, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, El Capitan in Stars and Stripesand the principal in Theme and Variations. Recently he has had works created on him by Nicolo Fonte in The Immeasurable Cadences Within, Helen Picket in But Never Doubt I Love and Charlotte Boye-Christensen in Row.