Artistic Staff Profiles
Sydney, Vienna, Berlin, and Barcelona with mentors including Sebastian Weigle, Nicolette Fraillon AM, Harry Spence Lyth, Richard Bonynge AC CBE, and John Hopkins AM OBE. Mr. Thew also has an active concert and recording conducting career and is committed to the education of young conductors and instrumentalists. He joined Houston Ballet as Associate Conductor in August 2022 for the 2022-23 season. Mr. Thew starts as the new Music Director and Chief Conductor beginning the 2024-25 season.
focusing on her portrayal of one of the great heroines of Russian literature. She was also featured on PBS, performing Alonzo King’s Map , in a moving 9/11 performance. Following retirement, Ms. Fote accepted the position of Ballet Master with Ballet San Antonio. Upon returning to Houston, she began teaching for Houston Ballet II and Houston Ballet before joining the artistic staff in 2018.
Ian Casady Ballet Master
Hayden Stark Ballet Master
Ian Casady Ballet Master
Hayden Stark grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. He began dancing at three years old, toured with Minnesota Ballet at ten, and, at fifteen, left home to attend University of North Carolina School of the Arts. After graduating in 2012, Stark joined Houston Ballet II, was hired into the Houston Ballet Company in 2013 and quickly elevated to Soloist. He has enjoyed performing the lead role of Ariel in David Bintley’s The Tempest , Bluebird in Ben Stevenson’s The Sleeping Beauty, and Fire God in Stanton Welch’s La Bayadère. After retiring from Houston Ballet in 2021, Stark became the Professional Training Division Instructor with Texas Ballet Theater before rejoining Houston Ballet as a member of the artistic staff in 2024.
Ian Casady was born in Fairfax, California, and received his dance training there from David Roxander, Jody White, and Georgia Ortega. In 1998, Mr. Casady studied at Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy before joining the Company as a member of the Corps de Ballet. He was promoted to Soloist in 2002, to First Soloist in 2006, and to Principal in 2007. Over the course of his career, Mr. Casady has danced a wide range of roles in works by some of the most celebrated choreographers, both past and present. Mr. Casady has been fortunate enough to have danced on some of the most historic and famous stages around the world including Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Bolshoi in Moscow, the Champs- Élysées in Paris, the Sydney Opera House, Sadler’s Wells in London, and theaters in Hong Kong, Spain, Germany, and Canada. Mr. Casady was a finalist at the 2002 International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. Upon his retirement after a 22-year professional career onstage, he joined the artistic staff of Houston Ballet as ballet master in 2020.
Amy Fote Ballet Master
Steven Woodgate Ballet Master
Australian Steven Woodgate graduated from The Australian Ballet School in 1985. He performed with The Australian Ballet, progressing through the ranks to senior artist in 1996. In 2000, he was awarded The Churchill Fellowship, which enabled him to observe many ballet masters from around the world and study their various teaching methods. Mr. Woodgate joined the artistic staff of Houston Ballet in January 2004. Mr. Woodgate has taught both student and professional classes around the world. Mr. Woodgate reproduced Stanton Welch’s Madame Butterfly for the Singapore Dance Theater, The Royal New Zealand Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Atlanta Ballet, Ballet West, and The Australian Ballet. In 2009, Mr. Woodgate staged Clear for Angel Corella’s company in Spain and in 2011 re-staged Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow for Texas Ballet Theatre, Tulsa Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, Teatro Colon Argentina and Houston Ballet. Woodgate also represented Australia in the Moscow Ballet Competition in 1989. Woodgate danced principal roles in Ashton’s La Fille Mal Gardee , Van Praggh’s Coppélia , Bejart’s Le Concours and Gaite Parisienne , works by Tudor and Balanchine, Welch, and many other choreographers.
Hayden Stark Ballet Master
Amy Fote Ballet Master
Amy Fote began dancing at the age of four in her hometown of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, under the direction of Jean Wolfmeyer. She continued her studies on scholarship at the National Academy of Arts, Interlochen Arts Academy, and at the Harid Conservatory, where she graduated with honors. Ms. Fote then accepted a position with the Milwaukee Ballet and rose through the ranks to become a principal dancer. During her 14 years with the company, she regularly performed at the Chautauqua Institution in New York and was subsequently invited to dance the title role in Stanton Welch’s Madame Butterfly with the Royal New Zealand Ballet. In 2005, she joined Houston Ballet, where she danced for eight seasons. In 2003, she was featured in a PBS documentary entitled Dancing Anna Karenina ,
Steven Woodgate Ballet Master
HOUSTON BALLET
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