Ginger Thatcher and Phillip Broomhead Set for Faculty at Goh Ballet Academy's Summer Program in Vancouver, 7/7-8/9

GINGER THATCHER, former principal dancer of the Cleveland Ballet and former soloist of the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, and PHILLIP BROOMHEAD, former principal dancer of the Royal Ballet and the Houston Ballet, will members of the faculty for the Goh Ballet Academy's Summer Program in Vancouver, Canada from July 7-August 9, 2014.

GINGER THATCHER began her professional dance career as an apprentice with the Houston Ballet. She later joined the Cincinnati Ballet and in 1981 joined the Cleveland Ballet, rising to the rank of principal dancer.

Ms. Thatcher's repertoire with the Cleveland Ballet included principal roles in ballets by George Balanchine (Agon, Concerto Barocco, The Four Temperaments, Serenade, Theme and Variations), Dennis Nahat (Brahms Quintet, Cannonade, Celebration and Ode, Contra Concerti, In Concert, In Studio D, Ontongeny, Pas de Dix, Quicksilver, Slavonic and Hungarian Dances, Some Times, Summerscape, Wu T'ai Shih), Murray Louis (By George), Daniel Levans (Concert Waltzes), Louis Falco (Escargot), Leonide Massine (Gaite Parisienne), David Lichine (Graduation Ball), Kurt Joos (The Green Table), Antony Tudor (Lilac Garden), Ian Horvath (Ozone Hour, Piano Man), Agnes de Mille (Rodeo, Three Virgins And A Devil), and Jose Limon (The Moor's Pavane, There Is A Time).

Ms. Thatcher has also received acclaim for her performances in classical pieces such as Don Quixote Pas de Deux, The Nutcracker, Bluebird Pas de Deux, and the Prelude in Fokine's Les Sylphides.

From 1991-93 Ms. Thatcher danced with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and danced roles in American Gesture, Concerto 622, Symphonie Concertante, and Waiting For The Sunshine.

Ms. Thatcher has also appeared in the Cleveland Opera's productions of Show Boat (Dance Captain), My Fair Lady (Dance Captain), West Side Story (understudying Anybodys), and Kiss Me Kate, and with the Kenley Players in Evita and Woman of the Year. She has also appeared in the Paper Mill Playhouse's productions of My Fair Lady and Phantom of the Opera, and portrayed the role of Tiger Lily in Paper Mill's production of Peter Pan.

Ms. Thatcher also participated in the Carlisle Project, a workshop for promising choreographers and was the director of the "New Steps" Choreography Project. During the 1994-95 season Ms. Thatcher choreographed Liaisons Ephemeres, a world premiere for the Minnesota Ballet. In 1995 Ms. Thatcher choreographed a new ballet for the Carlisle Project Showcase and won first prize for her ballet, Hidden Forces, at the Sarasota Ballet's Choreography Competition. In 1999 the Lawrence Pech Dance Company presented the world premiere of Ms. Thatcher's Appalachia Waltz and Dance Galaxy presented the world premiere of Ms. Thatcher's Saturday Night. During the 1998-99 season Ms. Thatcher presented an evening of her choreography at the Clark Studio Theatre in New York.

Ms. Thatcher also choreographed Five O'Clock Fox Trot for the Minnesota Ballet during the 1999-2000 season.

During the 2000-01 season Ms. Thatcher staged Appalachia Waltz for the Louisville Ballet, created Eve for the Steps Dance Ensemble, staged Saturday Night for the New Jersey Ballet and created Urban Study for Oregon Ballet Theatre. In 2002 Ms. Thatcher created Hush for American Repertory Ballet, and in 2006 Ms. Thatcher created 1 Albinoni and 5 Women for the Eidolon Ballet.

She also choreographed the dance sequences in the Glimmerglass Opera Theatre's productions of Eugene Onegin and The Bartered Bride, and the Cleveland Playhouse's production of The Robber Bridegroom (directed by Michael Maggio). In 1998 Ms. Thatcher created the choreography for The Shakespeare Project's production of A Winter's Tale. In 2000 Ms. Thatcher choreographed the Gateway Playhouse's production of Big. In 2003 Ms. Thatcher was the choreographer for the world premiere rewrite of Frank Loesser's Hans Christian Andersen at the Maine State Music Theatre. Subsequently Ms. Thatcher also created a new version of Swing for the Maine State Music Theatre. In 2007 Ms. Thatcher choreographed the TexARTS' concert production of Carousel starring Patrick Cassidy and Shirley Jones.

She has also studied acting and voice and appeared in the lead role of Karen in the independent film, "A Clown in New York", which was shown at the Independent Feature Film Festival/Angelika Film Center.

Ms. Thatcher was Lar Lubovitch's assistant on the Broadway musical, The Red Shoes, and was assistant choreographer for the Vivian Beaumont Theater's revival of Carousel, the Broadway musical, Big, the stage version of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the Broadway revival of Oklahoma. For Oklahoma Ms. Thatcher was also second understudy for the role of Aunt Eller. Ms. Thatcher was also assistant choreographer for the Broadway engagement of Adventures in Motion Pictures' Swan Lake.

Ms. Thatcher was Lar Lubovitch's assistant on Othello, which was created for American Ballet Theatre and restaged for the San Francisco Ballet and the Norwegian National Ballet. Ms. Thatcher was Susan Stroman's assistant on But Not For Me, which was created for the Martha Graham Dance Company.

Ms. Thatcher has been the rehearsal director for Complexions Dance Company, and the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company. She is also the director of the OU Repertory Dance Company and has recently been an Artist in Residence/Special Lecturer for Oakland University.

Ms. Thatcher is also in demand as a teacher having been on the faculty of Oakland University, the University of Michigan, Ballet Academy East, Steps, the Cleveland Ballet Academy, the Houston Ballet Academy, the Joffrey New School, USDAN, Peridance, and as a guest teacher for American Ballet Theatre, and the Norwegian National Ballet. Ms. Thatcher has been a member of the guest faculty of the Mason Gross Center for the Performing Arts at Rutgers University.

PHILLIP BROOMHEAD was born in London, England and received his ballet training at the Royal Ballet School. In 1981 he joined the Royal Ballet. He was promoted to soloist in 1983 and to principal dancer in 1986.

While dancing with the Royal Ballet Mr. Broomhead's classical repertoire included the roles of Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, the Prince and the Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty, Albrecht in Giselle, Solor in Natalia Makarova's production of La Bayadere, Benvolio in Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet, the Prince in Peter Wright's production of The Nutcracker, the King of the East in MacMillan's Prince of the Pagodas, and Colas in Frederick Ashton's La Fille Mal Gardee.

Mr. Broomhead's contemporary repertoire included principal roles such as the Rubies Pas de Deux in George Balanchine's Jewels, Richard P. Arnold in Ashton's Enigma Variations, the White Couple in Ashton's Les Patineurs, Oberon in Ashton's The Dream, and Ashton's Rhapsody, Scenes de Ballet, and Symphonic Variations; The Dark Angel in MacMillan's Orpheus, the First Movement in MacMillan's Concerto, and the MacMillan ballets, Elite Syncopations, Le Baiser de la Fee, The Song of the Earth, Manon, Mayerling, Solitaire, and Gloria; David Bintley's Consort Lessons, Galantries, Sons of Horus, The Young Apollo, and The Planets; Jiri Kylian's Return To The Strange Land; Glen Tetley's Voluntaries and Dances of Albion; Hans van Manen's Four Schumann Pieces; and Balanchine's Serenade, Concerto Barocco, Stravinsky Violin Concerto and Ballet Imperial.

Mr. Broomhead created roles in Bintley's Still Life At The Penguin Café (the Southern Cape Zebra) and Enclosure, Ashton's Varii Capricci, Richard Alston's Midsummer, MacMillan's Isadora, Ashley Page's Pursuit, Slow Talk Fast Walk, and Bloodlines; Wayne Eagling's Frankenstein and Beauty and the Beast; and Michael Corder's L'Invitation Au Voyage and Number Three. He has performed in Ashton's A Birthday Offering, in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen; Sir Frederick Ashton's Daphnis and Chloe to celebrate the Queen Mother's 90th Birthday; and many other royal galas. He also appeared with the Royal Ballet on its international tours.

Mr. Broomhead joined the Houston Ballet as a principal dancer in January 1991. He made his Houston Ballet debut in the role of the Prince in Ben Stevenson's Cinderella. He has also danced the roles of Prince Siegfried in Stevenson's Swan Lake, the Prince in Stevenson's The Sleeping Beauty, the Prince and Dr. Drosselmeyer in Stevenson's The Nutcracker, Romeo in Stevenson's Romeo and Juliet, the title role and Gamache in Stevenson's Don Quixote, Des Grieux in MacMillan's Manon, Danilo in Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow, the title role in Stevenson's Dracula, Misgir in Stevenson's The Snow Maiden, Julius Caesar in Stevenson's Cleopatra, Dr. Coppelius in Stevenson's Coppelia, Daphnis in Tetley's Daphnis and Chloe, the Shah in Ronald Hynd's Papillon, the Artist in Ashton's The Two Pigeons, Widow Simone in Ashton's La Fille Mal Gardee, and principal roles in Stevenson's La Peri, Stevenson's Alice in Wonderland, MacMillan's Solitaire, Gloria, and Elite Syncopations, William Forsythe's In The Middle, Somewhat Elevated, Paul Taylor's Company B, Sean Kelly's Sinuosity, Stanton Welch's Indigo, The Core, and The Tales of Texas, Balanchine's Symphony in C (Second Movement) and Serenade, and Harald Lander's Etudes.

In 2003 Mr. Broomhead was also appointed to the position of balletmaster for the Houston Ballet in addition to his performance responsibilities as a principal dancer.

In 2004 Mr. Broomhead retired from the stage and assumed his position of balletmaster for the Houston Ballet on a full-time basis. In 2011 Mr. Broomhead left the Houston Ballet to pursue a career as a freelance teacher and coach.

In March 1991, while on vacation in Washington D.C., Mr. Broomhead attended a Royal Ballet performance of Anthony Dowell's Swan Lake. The Royal Ballet's principal dancer sustained an injury during Act I and Mr. Broomhead finished the performance partnering Darcey Bussell as his Swan Queen. This performance won him worldwide critical acclaim.

In 1998 Mr. Broomhead staged Coppelia for the Chamberlain Ballet in Dallas, Texas and created Vespri for the Houston Ballet Academy's annual performance.

Mr. Broomhead has appeared as a guest artist with some of the world's leading companies including the Royal Swedish Ballet, the Scottish Ballet, and the Yugoslav Ballet. He has also appeared as a guest artist with many regional ballet companies in the United States.

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