BARBARA BEARS, PRINCIPAL

Birthplace
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Dance Training
Victoria Leigh
James Franklin

Joined the Company
1988

Promoted to Principal
1995

Favorite Role
Manon in Sir Kenneth MacMillan's Manon and Tatiana in John Cranko's Onegin

Review
"Five Poems is an ensemble piece, but Barbara Bears steals the show.  She captures the frustrated passion of Wagner's score, lingering in Stevenson's sad and sensual choreography.  You can't buy moments like these." -Lauren Kern (Housotn Press)

One defining moment...
There have been many defining moments for me, but I suppose the most profound was as a 17 year old, first-year corps member I was selected by Sir Kenneth MacMillan for the lead in his ballet Gloria. To be given such an amazing opportunity by a renowed choreographer only happens once in a lifetime. I feel incredibly indebted to Sir Kenneth. I am so thankful for the time we worked together and for the beautiful ballets he created.

Barbara Bears, winner of the silver medal at the 1991 International Ballet Competition, was born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and received her early dance training from Victoria Leigh and James Franklin.  Ms. Bears joined Houston Ballet in 1988 and that same season was selected by Sir Kenneth MacMillan to dance the lead in his ballet Gloria.  Since then she has gone on to dance Manon in Sir MacMillan's Manon and the leading roles in his Elite Syncopations and Solitaire. 

Ms. Bears' classical repertoire includes Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Giselle in Giselle, Aurora and Princess Florise in The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella in Cinderella, the Sylph in La Sylphide, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Cleopatra in Cleopatra, the Snow Maiden in The Snow Maiden, the Sugarplum Fairy and the Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, Valencienne and Hanna in The Merry Widow, Solvieg and the Green Lady in Peer Gynt, the Firebird in Firebird, Sue in Pecos Bill and Svetlana in Dracula, a role Mr. Stevenson created for her in 1997.  Most recently Ms. Bears had the honor of dancing Cio-Cio-San in Stanton Welch's Madame Butterfly and Tatiana in Houston Ballet's premiere of John Cranko's Onegin.

Ms. Bears' contemporary repertoire includes Stanton Welch's Indigo, Bruiser, Divergence, A Dance in the Garden of Mirth, Big Sky, Cline Time movements of Mr. Welch's Tales of Texas, Nosotros, Maninyas, Wild Life, Play, Blindness, Red Earth, Brigade, Carmina Burana, Tutu, Clear and Four Seasons; Christopher Bruce's Rooster, Ghost Dances, Sergeant Early's Dream, Land and Journey; George Balanchine's Serenade, La Valse, The Four Temperaments, Western Symphony, Agon and Apollo; Glen Tetley's The Rite of Spring, Daphnis and Chloe Voluntaries, and Lux and Tenebris; Ben Stevenson's Four Last Songs, Three Preludes, Evening, Miraculous Mandarin, Image, Five Poems and Bartok Concerto; Jiří Kylián's Sinfonietta, Forgotten Land, Svebedka, Petite Mort and Symphony in D; Nacho Duato's Without Words; Jerome Robbins' The Concert; Trey McIntyre's Bound, Skeleton Clock, Second Before the Ground, Peter Pan and Curupira; James Kudelka's Musings; Mark Morris' Sandpaper Ballet; Christopher Wheeldon's Carnival of the Animals and various roles in works by Sir Fredrick Ashton, William Forsythe, Helgi Tomasson, John McFall, Natalie Weir, Adrian Burnett, Julia Adam, Joe Layton, Dominic Walsh and Sean Kelly. 

In 2001, Ms. Bears was honored to be featured on the cover of both Dance Magazine and Pointe Magazine. She was also voted best dancer by the Houston Press in 2001 and 2004. After the birth of her son in 2002, Ms. Bears returned to dancing upon the invitation of Stanton Welch.  Ms. Bears is married to Houston restaurateur Garrett Gadbois with whom she co-owns the popular mid-town restaurant Farrago.

Headshot by: Jann Whaley

Photo: Drew Donovan