What is The Company?
Midland Festival Ballet is a non-profit, pre-professional ballet company whose members are all Permian Basin student dancers ages 11+! They enjoy exciting opportunities, such as master classes from guest teachers, workshops with guest choreographers, and extra performance opportunities, both local and abroad.
With the extra performance opportunities comes extra time and effort. In addition to their weekly leveled classes, the Company has their own ballet class on Saturdays immediately followed by hours of rehearsal. They also come together to rehearse during the week after their classes on Tuesdays and Fridays.
It’s a commitment, but it’s an experience they never forget.
Meet the Artistic Director
Susan Clark
Artistic Director Susan Clark enjoyed a long and distinguished ballet career prior to joining MFB. She was a Principal dancer with the Milwaukee Ballet for eight seasons, then became Ballet Mistress while the company was under the directorship of Basil Thompson.
Ms. Clark grew up in Midland, Texas and started dancing with Georgia Harston. Her primary training was with William-Martin Viscount in Fort Worth, Texas. At the age of twelve she was awarded a merit scholarship to study at The National Academy of Dance in Champaign, Illinois under Artistic Director Michael Maule.
Ms. Clark was one of sixteen dancers chosen to dance with American Ballet Theatre’s Ballet Repertory Company in New York under Richard England. Her career then took her to dance with the Atlanta Ballet under Robert Barnett for ten seasons where she was quickly promoted to Principal dancer. She performed notable roles such as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, The Sylph in Scotch Symphony, and Giselle in Giselle.
Other highlights of her career include working with Twyla Tharp in the film version of Hair and being a prize-winner in the International Dance Competition in Osaka, Japan. Ms. Clark is known for her teaching skills and is a sought-after guest teacher and coach throughout the United States.
