Eugene weekly., February 21, 2019, Page 10, Image 10

A
GRACEFUL
TRANSITION
Where others have stumbled, Eugene Ballet takes a lighter approach
t o t h e c h a l l e n g e o f s u c c e s s i o n BY BOB KEEFER / PHOTOS BY TODD COOPER
TONI PIMBLE
10
F E B R U A R Y
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2 0 1 9
our decades ago, Toni Pimble
came to Eugene with her then-
husband, Riley Grannan, to start a
ballet company. It was the 1970s, a
time when Eugene was full of hope
and aspiration. Life magazine had
named the city one of the most
livable in the country, and arts
and culture organizations were
sprouting like dandelions.
Founded in 1978, Eugene Ballet
Company (EBC) has toured in 32
U.S. states as well as making trips
abroad to Japan, Taiwan, India,
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Syria,
Jordan and Tunisia. It’s one of the best-known small
professional ballet companies in the country.
Now Pimble, 65, is looking to retire.
That means the ballet faces one of the most difficult
challenges of any organization: How do you replace the
founder?
Here and elsewhere, arts groups have struggled with
that problem. Among the least successful locally is the
Oregon Bach Festival, which has been plagued with
succession problems for more than a decade as it’s tried
to replace its two founders [See story on page 14].
Pimble is taking a completely different approach.
Instead of doing a national search for a new artistic
director who would replace her when she walks out the
door, Pimble has planned a slow-motion retirement that
will see her backing away from the demands of her job
and handing control over to two long-time company
members over the next five years.
And — significantly, for her — the two people she has
chosen to succeed her are both women.
Sitting in a backstage hallway at the Hult Center one
recent morning while company dancers warmed up for
a rehearsal, Pimble ticked off examples of major dance
companies that were founded by women — and then
taken over by men when their founders retired.
“You know, the Royal Ballet was founded by Dame
Ninette de Valois, Marie Rambert founded Ballet
Rambert, Australian Ballet was founded by Nellie Potts.
And the list just goes on and on and on, they were all
founded — Lucia Chase, ABT, American Ballet Theatre,
right? — the list goes on and on and on, and the next
person in? Not a woman. A man. The next person in? Not
a woman, a man. It’s just man, man, man!”
She shakes her head.
“And I’m just going, ‘No! The next people taking over
from me are going to be women.’ I feel strongly about
that.”
Pimble divides her job into two major roles: As artistic
director, she makes broad decisions about what works
the ballet will perform, shaping the company’s overall
vision. Meanwhile, as a choreographer, she creates new
ballets for the dancers to perform.
In Pimble’s slow-motion retirement plan, longtime
EBC dancer Jennifer Martin, who is now associate
artistic director, will gradually take over Pimble’s role as
artistic director.
“She’s been with me since 1995,” Pimble says. “If that
isn’t commitment I don’t know what it is.”
Martin says she never aspired to running a company.
“In reality, it is a very small group of dancers that
move on to this particular position of leadership,” she
says. “The greatest challenge will be moving Toni’s
vision forward, while maintaining the integrity she so
beautifully and gracefully has created. The Eugene
Ballet has a lasting legacy of her choreographic works,
but she wears so many hats; these are very awesome
shoes to fill.”
Stepping into Pimble’s role as choreographer will
be Suzanne Haag, a long-time EBC dancer who has
also worked with Pimble for years. Her current title is
resident choreographer.
Haag says Pimble broached the idea to her of taking
over as choreographer about four years ago.
“That was just the initial, ‘Are you interested?’” Haag
says. “I was still dancing.”
F
E U G E N E W E E K LY . C O M