Ballet Tucson Announces New School Directors and a New Official School Name

TUCSON, AZ Tuesday, May 31st, 2022 – Tucson’s only professional ballet company is pleased to announce that their official school has a new name and new directors. Beginning in August, the newly minted School of Ballet Tucson will be led by the accomplished husband and wife team Danielle and Liang Fu. They join the Ballet Tucson Artistic Staff as School Directors to bring the company’s prestigious training institution into a new era of excellence. They will also be leading dancers with Ballet Tucson’s professional company, adding further excitement to the upcoming 2022-2023 performance season.

From the Ballet Tucson Board of Directors:

“It brings us great pleasure to announce the appointment of Danielle and Liang Fu as the new Directors of The School of Ballet Tucson. Along with their teaching expertise, they will also contribute their incredible artistic talent to Ballet Tucson as lead performers in our professional ballet company. Their diverse skill set is sure to guarantee a robust and promising future for Ballet Tucson and The School of Ballet Tucson!”

From Margaret Mullin, Ballet Tucson’s Artistic Director:

“We are delighted to welcome Danielle and Liang Fu as the new Directors of The School of Ballet Tucson and as leading artists in our professional company. They bring a wealth of experience gained from over a decade spent performing with prestigious national and international ballet companies. I look forward to our patrons experiencing their exceptional talent and exhilarating performance quality for years to come. Their commitment to excellence aligns perfectly with our organization’s standards and has made them respected artists and sought-after teachers for dancers of all ages and levels. They possess a passion for nurturing the next generation that is sure to excite and uplift our students, helping them to reach new heights in their training while deepening their love and appreciation for the art form.”

Danielle and Liang Fu share:

“We are thrilled to be the new directors of The School of Ballet Tucson and to be leading dancers with the professional company. We are extremely grateful for the opportunity to teach and inspire the next generation of dancers in Tucson and to contribute our artistic abilities and expertise to the company. Our combined 36 years of experience dancing with both international and U.S. professional ballet companies, in addition to our time teaching in the schools of those companies has prepared us well for the new responsibilities we will undertake here in Tucson.” They add, “We are excited to be joining a school and company that has had a reputation for excellence over the last 36 years and look forward to helping to maintain that standard well into the future. We have found that the community of Tucson is home to many wonderful performing arts organizations and we are proud to be a part of that. We look forward to welcoming even more students to the school as well as helping to grow a larger audience and support base for Ballet Tucson.”

Registration and class information for The School of Ballet Tucson 2022-2023 school year will be available soon. Join Ballet Tucson’s e-newsletter to be the first to receive school and company news.

About Danielle Fu

Danielle Fu was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and started dancing at the age of three. Her family relocated to Northern California where she continued her training at Lamorinda Ballet Center with Lynn Homeres of San Francisco Ballet, Deborah Pitts of Oakland Ballet, and Pat Keene of the Royal Ballet. She went on to train for six years at the San Francisco Ballet School while also attending summer programs at The Briansky Saratoga Ballet Center, The Jillana School, American Ballet Theatre, and International Dance School in Jackson, Mississippi. While training at the San Francisco Ballet School , Ms. Fu had the privilege of performing many works by George Balanchine, Helgi Tomasson, Lew Christensen, and August Bournonville. She also had the opportunity to perform with the San Francisco Ballet Company in Helgi Tommason’s The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Romeo & Juliet.

Ms. Fu joined Cincinnati Ballet in 2006 and danced with the company for eight seasons. Over the course of her career with Cincinnati Ballet, she performed featured roles such as Tinkerbell in Septime Webre’s Peter Pan, Myrtha in Devon Carney’s Giselle, The Rose in Victoria Morgan’s and Val Caniparoli’s The Nutcracker, The Lead Woman in James Kudleka’s The Man in Black, Pas de Trios and Big Swan in Swan Lake, and 3rd Movement Principal in George Balanchine’s Symphony in C. She also had the privilege of touring with the company in May 2014, performing at The Joyce Theater in New York City. Ms. Fu taught at the Otto M. Budig Academy, the official school of the Cincinnati Ballet, for 5 years during her time as a dancer with the company.

She then went on to join Kansas City Ballet in 2014. Over the next eight years of her career with KCB, she performed numerous featured roles including The Queen of Hearts in Septime Webre’s Alice (in Wonderland), Sanguinic in Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, Milady de Winter in The Three Musketeers, Snow Queen, Rose and The Sugar Plum Fairy in Devon Carney’s The Nutcracker, Helena in Bruce Wells’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Carabosse in Devon Carney’s The Sleeping Beauty, The Wicked Witch in Septime Webre’s Wizard of Oz, Olympe in Val Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias, Russian Girl in George Balanchine’s Serenade and Mina Harker in Michael Pink’s Dracula. She has also been featured in many contemporary works including Klein Persepectives by Andi Schermoly, Petite Mort by Jiri Kylian, In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated by William Forsythe, In the Upper Room by Twyla Tharp, and Petal by Helen Pickett. She had the opportunity to perform Opening Night Snow Queen, representing Kansas City Ballet at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in November 2017.

Ms. Fu has served as an instructor for the Kansas City Ballet School’s Summer Intensive and has coached several young aspiring dancers for their YAGP competitions. She had the privilege of staging and rehearsing a group piece, that won YAGP regionals and was to be a finalist in NYC in March of 2020 before the pandemic shutdowns. Her teaching experience also includes several summer intensives such as Georgia Academy of Dance, Ballet North in North Kansas City, and The School of Ballet Tucson; previously known as Ballet Arts. Additionally, she has taught masterclasses at the Center Stage Academy of the Performing Arts in Sedalia, MO. She is thrilled to be joining Ballet Tucson, not only to continue her dance career but also to help shape and inspire the next generation of dancers as one of The School of Ballet Tucson’s directors, alongside her husband Liang Fu.

About Liang Fu

Liang Fu was born in Qingdao, China. He trained at Beijing Dance Academy for 6 years before graduating in 2001. He then went on to dance with Singapore Dance Theatre, Universal Ballet Company in Seoul, South Korea, and was a Senior Soloist with Cincinnati Ballet before joining Kansas City Ballet in 2014.

Mr. Fu was invited to perform at the Gala of Benois de La Danse Competition at The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia in 2003. In 2005, he was awarded 1st Prize at the 10th Asian Pacific International Ballet Competition in Tokyo, Japan. His performance repertoire includes many leading roles such as Siegfried in Swan Lake, Prince Desire in The Sleeping Beauty, Albrecht in Giselle, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, James in La Sylphide, Dracula in Dracula, Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, D’Artagnan in The Three Musketeers, Escamillo in Carmen, Lucien in Paquita, Jean de Brienne in Raymonda, Snow King and Cavalier in The Nutcracker, as well as in George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, Theme and Variations, Diamonds and Serenade. He has also been featured in contemporary works including Stamping Ground, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Forgotten Land and Petite Mort by Jiří Kylián, In the Upper Room by Twyla Tharp, In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated by William Forsythe, Tabula Rasa by Ohad Naharin, Maninyas by Stanton Welch, The Man in Black by James Kudelka, Lambarena and Vivace by Val Caniparoli, Wunderland by Edwaard Liang and Petal by Helen Pickett.

Throughout his career, Mr. Fu has taught at numerous ballet schools and summer intensives, in addition to masterclasses, including Cincinnati Ballet Academy, Ballet Tech of Ohio, Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre, Georgia Academy of Dance & the Performing Arts, and The School of Ballet Tucson.

Mr. Fu is looking forward to co-directing The School of Ballet Tucson with his wife Danielle Fu, as well as continuing his dance career with Ballet Tucson.

About The School of Ballet Tucson

The School of Ballet Tucson is the official school of Tucson’s only professional ballet company and has provided exceptional dance training to students of all ages since 1986. Our faculty is comprised of Ballet Tucson company dancers and professionals who have performed in prestigious national and international companies. Our students receive advanced training in a variety of styles, helping them to become versatile and well-rounded dancers. We are dedicated to providing an encouraging environment for each student that focuses on creativity, artistry, and personal growth. We strive to deliver educational experiences that foster a deep love and appreciation for dance, and skills that will serve our students in all aspects of their lives. Students of our school have the opportunity to perform alongside our professional Ballet Tucson company dancers in select productions, including our award-winning production of The Nutcracker in partnership with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra at The Linda Ronstadt Music Hall (formerly known as the Tucson Music Hall). We also provide performance opportunities specifically highlighting our students: The School of Ballet Tucson Spring Showcase and the Annual Summer Dance Workshop Performance. Additionally, students may participate in Masterclasses with renowned guest teachers at a discounted rate throughout the school year.

Our students and their families also experience the benefit of discounted tickets to all Ballet Tucson company performances throughout the season. We believe in the importance of exposing our students to inspiring, world-class dance and choreography. All students receive an exclusive code for 40% off General Admission tickets for Ballet Tucson’s entire performance season. Graduates of our school also have the opportunity to be considered for an apprenticeship with our professional company. For more information about the Ballet Tucson company, visit BalletTucson.org.

Graduates of The School of Ballet Tucson have been awarded scholarships to and/or have danced professionally with the following institutions:

Ballet Tucson, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, The Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, Béjart Ballet, Czech National Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Ballet Met, Houston Ballet, Alabama Ballet, Gus Giordano, National Ballet School (Toronto), Ballet West, The School of American Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Aspen/Santa Fe Ballet, Rochester City Ballet, The Kirov Academy, Milwaukee Ballet, Hartford Ballet, Harid Conservatory, Sarasota Ballet, American Midwest Ballet, Cleveland Ballet, Alvin Ailey, Ballet Florida, Pennsylvania Ballet, Dayton Ballet, Disney Tokyo, Ohio Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts, and Oakland Ballet.

Graduates of The School of Ballet Tucson who have had professional dance careers have been featured by:

Dance Magazine, Pointe Magazine, Dance Spirit Magazine, Dance Informa, Discount Dance Supply, POND’S Beauty, and more.

Ballet Tucson and The School of Ballet Tucson is a not-for-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status under the U.S. Tax Code and all donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.