Artistic director leaves Nevada Ballet

The coda has come for Bruce Steivel.

Nevada Ballet Theatre announced Friday that after more than a decade as artistic director, Steivel resigned in late December, deciding to "pursue other opportunities." The company also announced that executive director Beth Barbre had been appointed chief executive officer.

"We're obviously going to miss him," Barbre said. "He'd been talking about leaving for a while. He was here 10 years, it was a hard job, and he wanted to try other things. His role changed with the company. We did his production of 'The Nutcracker' in December, and it wasn't his last. We're going to do his work in the future," she said, citing a Steivel ballet scheduled for March.

Barbre said Nevada Ballet's board of directors plans to conduct an international search for a successor that could stretch into late this year.

"We're hoping to attract high-level candidates and find someone who can lead us into our next phase and prepare us for the Smith Center," Barbre said, referring to the performing arts center scheduled to open in 2011.

Steivel could not be reached for comment Friday, but in a statement released by the company, he said, "I have enjoyed every minute of my time with the company. I felt embraced by the Las Vegas community and I'd like to ... thank them for their support. Leading a professional ballet company in the entertainment capital of the world was often challenging, but thanks to loyal patrons and a committed board, NBT has been an important contributor to the cultural life of Las Vegas."

Susan Boskoff, executive director of the Nevada Arts Council, also only learned of Steivel's departure on Friday.

"We hadn't heard anything about this, but I never expect anything and I'm never surprised by anything in the arts," Boskoff said. "In the artistic world, there's always a lot of change because of the nature of the artistic process. Bruce played an important role as an individual, artist and administrator, and he should be recognized for that."

Steivel, the former artistic director for the Hong Kong Ballet and Universal Ballet, joined Nevada Ballet in 1997, succeeding founding artistic director Vassili Sulich. During his tenure, Steivel created 17 of the 30 new ballets that added a more contemporary flavor to the company's repertoire, brought in many guest artists and led its affiliated school, the Academy of Nevada Ballet Theatre.

"He really expanded the appreciation of ballet as not a fuddy-duddy, but a very contemporary art form," Boskoff said. "As a funding organization, we respect and honor arts institutions that focus on developing the next generation of artists."

Barbre said other staff members will assume Steivel's duties for the next production, "From Stravinsky to Sinatra," Feb. 8-9.

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0256.