In the latest in a string of leadership changes at Orlando Ballet, Christopher Alloways-Ramsey will be the new director of the dance company’s school.
Orlando Ballet announced the hire Monday. In recent weeks, director of community enrichment Charmaine Hunter departed the organization after seven years to join the Sarasota Ballet. And in March, the company announced it would not renew the contract of executive director Cheryl Collins.
Alloways-Ramsey will succeed Phillip Broomhead as head of the Orlando Ballet School. Spokeswoman Sara Brady said Broomhead had offered his resignation last week, which Broomhead confirmed to the Sentinel.
“I am moving on to something new,” he said, declining to discuss his departure further.
Hunter, Collins and Broomhead were among the most senior Orlando Ballet officials with public-facing roles, alongside Jorden Morris, the company’s artistic director since 2021.
Brady said the rapid succession of changes didn’t come easily but was necessary for the organization’s growth.
“Change is always hard,” she wrote in a statement, “and everyone within the organization is working at a much higher level — which is how Orlando Ballet will continue to attract some of the industry’s strongest leaders.”
Alloways-Ramsey is a Harvard University graduate who earned a master’s of fine arts degree in choreography from Jacksonville University. A former dancer, his educational positions include assistant professor at the University of Utah’s School of Dance, as well as faculty positions with the American Academy of Ballet in New York, Boston Arts Academy and the Utah Dance Institute. He also has held adjunct teaching positions at Harvard and Boston Conservatory.
In addition, Alloways-Ramsey served as head of ballet at the Cape Academy of Performing Arts in Cape Town, South Africa, where he oversaw a dancer-training program.
Orlando Ballet parts ways with executive director Cheryl Collins
At Orlando Ballet, a reorganization by Morris means Alloways-Ramsey will have a new title — education director — and expanded responsibilities. Along with the school and its curriculum, he will oversee the ballet’s community initiatives.
The reorganization is part of a plan to strengthen the school and company as a whole, Brady said.
“The ballet is a living, breathing organization that must always be growing artistically and academically,” she wrote. “The board directed Jorden Morris to evaluate the organization as a whole and create a path that takes the ballet to the next level of excellence.”
“Jorden’s intentional redesign of the school’s architecture and bringing everything together makes perfect sense,” stated Alloways-Ramsey in the official announcement of his hiring. “The school will offer greater strategic opportunities for youngsters interested in professional dance, as well as provide a destination for locals who simply seek a place to enjoy dance and fitness. It’s a perfect blend of education, talent, skill and vision. I can’t wait to begin.”
Morris said new hires reflect the company’s growing prestige; last year, Orlando Ballet moved from No. 30 to No. 18 in Dance Data Project’s annual study of the U.S. ballet companies with the largest financial scope.
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“Just as our performances and audiences have grown, so has Orlando Ballet School’s reputation, enrollment, programming and impact in our community and the industry, making this the ideal time to grow our success and with top professionals leading the way,” Morris said in a statement.
The company continues to search for a new executive director; Morris has been also serving in that role on an interim basis since Collins’ departure.
On Monday, the company also announced that Shane Bland had been named manager of community engagement, reporting to Alloways-Ramsey, after serving three years as the program’s field director.
Bland, also a dancer and actor who was recently seen in Orlando Shakes’ “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” will directly manage the company’s dance-outreach initiatives, such as the STEPS program for children who otherwise wouldn’t be exposed to dance education, which was previously overseen by Hunter.
“Shane’s contagious enthusiasm for teaching dance and enriching the lives of everyone in our community has made him a key player in the dramatic expansion of our enrichment programs over the last three years,” Morris wrote. “Partnering with Chris and me will ensure a seamless transition.”
Although the ballet’s statement on the leadership changes did not acknowledge Broomhead by name, leaders paid tribute to the school’s achievements under his watch.
“The Orlando Ballet School has grown rapidly and extensively in terms of prestige, programming, training and results, so it’s nice to start with something that is fundamentally already thriving,” wrote Alloways-Ramsey.
Broomhead paid tribute to former Orlando Ballet artistic director Robert Hill, Morris’s predecessor, and told the Orlando Sentinel he would remain with the school to finish out the academic year and oversee student-dancer showcases this weekend.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time here,” he said. “If it wasn’t for Robert Hill I wouldn’t have been given the chance to show a side of me even I didn’t know I had.”
Orlando Ballet concludes its mainstage season this weekend with performances of “Casanova” in Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
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