Full-time Faculty
Faculty, Trainee Program Faculty, Upper Division Faculty
Parren Ballard, a graduate of the Alabama School of Fine Arts, was trained by Dame Sonia Arova and Thor Sutowski. He began his professional career at the age of seventeen with the Cincinnati Ballet. From there he went on to enjoy an internationally successful career of over twenty years as a Soloist Dancer working closely with Artistic Directors such as Ivan Nagy, Heinz Spoerli, and Ben Stevenson. He performed leading roles for the Basel Ballet in Switzerland, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf Germany, the English National Ballet in London, and the Houston Ballet, before retiring from the stage to focus on teaching classical ballet. Aside from his early training, his teaching method has been influenced by such great teachers as Woytek Lowski, Jurgen Schneider, and Ben Stevenson with all of whom he studied personally.
As a faculty member for seven years with Boston Ballet’s Center for Dance Education he trained numerous young dancers who have gone on to join professional companies such as Boston Ballet, American Ballet Theater, English National Ballet, Houston Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Royal Swedish Ballet, Zurich Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Ballet West, Orlando Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, and Kansas City Ballet. He has been a guest teacher for the Atlanta Ballet, Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet, and Pittsburgh Ballet. As a private coach he has prepared prize-winners of the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland, USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, World Ballet Competition in Orlando, and the International Dance Festival in Berlin. Parren is especially renowned for his mastery in teaching male technique and pas de deux.
In September 2021, Parren joined the Artistic Staff of Compañía Nacional de Danza in Madrid Spain as a Rehearsal Director where he coached principal dancers and taught company class for two seasons.
