KEY Magazine Fort Worth

Film Celebrity Fosters Texas Ballet Fever
By Don Patterson

Janine Turner, versatile star of movies, stage, and television has lent her talents to promote the Texas Ballet Theater, the Lone Star State’s premiere ballet company based in Fort Worth and Dallas. Turner, a Texas native, has returned home, and recently joined the ballet company’s board of directors. She will serve as chief promoter and spokesperson fostering the growth of the popular dance group.

Turner is no stranger to the art. She expressed her love of dance in a recent interview. “I danced my heart out for many years, including time I spent in New York pursuing a modeling career,” Turner said. “My interest in ballet peaked when I discovered the marvelous leadership of Ben Stevenson, the company’s artistic director. I became a huge fan of Stevenson when I went to see the company’s performance of The Nutcracker. I was in awe of what he’s accomplished.”

Turner’s admiration and respect for Stevenson is well founded. He transformed the Houston Ballet from a small provincial ensemble to one of the nation’s largest and most talented dance companies. Stevenson has earned worldwide critical acclaim for his contributions to the art. He was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) by Queen Elizabeth II and won America’s prestigious Dance Magazine Award. Stevenson remains a forerunner in the development of the nation’s regional ballet and his direction of the Texas Ballet Theater Company continues to win critical praise.

Turner hopes her board tenure will bring further plaudits to the outstanding dance company that is already in the limelight. The Texas Ballet Theater, formerly the Fort Worth/Dallas Ballet merged to become a single entity as the professional classical ballet company of north Texas. It brings unprecedented talent, beauty and artistic expression to the stages of Fort Worth’s Bass Performance Hall and Dallas’ Music Hall at Fair Park. The company plans to move beyond the arena of performing arts, lending its talents in a diverse contribution to the community. Texas Ballet Theater is committed to training youth through its school and community outreach activities. It plans to broaden dance education in the community with inventive and creative programs, while honoring the traditional teaching principals integral to the art form.

Turner will be the prime spokesperson for fund raisers, publicity events, and community activities. She begins her tenure as honorary chair of the theater’s September’s Celebrity Slippers fund raising event. She plans to deliver dedicated support while juggling her multifaceted career activities that include the recent production and direction of an independent film short, her continuing movie roles and television appearances, her new venture in songwriting, the writing of children’s books, the management of her Texas Longhorn Cattle Ranch, and the home-schooling of her young daughter. Obviously, Turner will be busily “on her toes”, and like the ballet company’s famed dancers, she will serve to “elevate” the Texas Ballet Theater to new and more auspicious height.

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