History:
The Wichita Falls Ballet Theatre, under the direction of Gari Boehm and Patricia Thornton, has advanced the Wichita Falls Ballet Theatre's vision of creating a dance repertory and further promoting the arts in the community.
First founded in 1963 by Frank and Irina Pal, the artistic directorship was passed on in 1988 to the couple Patricia Thornton and Gari Boehm. Through their fresh perspective and vigorous leadership, the scope of Wichita Falls Ballet Theatre was dramatically increased. Boehm and Thornton created a new syllabus, and via their inspirational teaching styles, augmented the level of ballet within the school and company. Under their directorship, Wichita Falls Ballet Theatre has received the honor of having been one of 30 companies recognized nationally as an Honor Company by the Regional Dance Amercia for consistent artistic and technical excellence. During this time only 3 of the 24 companies in the Southwestern Region have been on Gala for 10 consecutive years. These three companies were from Houston, Dallas, and our very own Wichita Falls Ballet Theatre. Many former companies of Regional Dance America have gone on to become the professional ballet companies found across America today.
