In September 1982, a performance of the Firebird ballet took place at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts in Eugene. The dance was only the second act to take the stage at the newly opened theater, and it marked the beginning of a decades-long partnership between the Hult Center and the Eugene Ballet.
Toni Pimble, the ballet’s co-founder and artistic director, fondly recalls the final rehearsal before that inaugural show.
“We just didn’t want to leave the theater,” she recalls. “We were so excited and we just wanted to stay. We were at the beginning, really, of our careers.”
A career that, for Pimble, will soon be experiencing a significant change.
Pimble’s lifetime in dance began years earlier as a young girl in England. There, she had studied ballet at the highly-regarded Elmhurst Ballet School. Upon graduation, she was offered her big break.
“It was somebody else's break,” she reflected.
Another dancer had suffered an injury, opening a last-minute spot at the Staatsoper in Kiel, Germany. Pimble auditioned and was quickly offered a job with just one hang-up: it started in a week.
“I did not have a passport, I had never been abroad, and I certainly didn’t speak German,” Pimble recalled. “But somehow, with my dad, we managed to get me on a plane on the Sunday, and on Monday I started work.”
It was in Kiel that Pimble met Riley Grannan, a Eugene native who was later offered the chance to return to Oregon and purchase the very school which had trained him. Looking for a change after seven years of professional dance, the Englander joined Grannan in his leap of faith.
Pimble remembers the school’s early performing group—the first iteration of the Eugene Ballet. Once, she said, a fundraiser had come to evaluate the company when their performance space was only a high school auditorium.
“And he came, and was very complimentary and said ‘I’d love to meet your board,’” laughed Pimble. “And Riley and I said, ‘Board, what’s that?’ That is exactly how clueless we were.”
However, the Eugene Ballet quickly found its footing. Today, the company boasts two dozen contracted dancers and a nearly $4 million budget. According to research by the Dance Data Project, it’s among the top 50 ballet companies in the U.S. in terms of annual expenditures.
The company and its academy are housed in the Midtown Arts Center—a multi-use development owned and pioneered by the Eugene Ballet.
The 128,000 square foot building houses commercial, studio, and administrative spaces for the company, as well as a number of other arts organizations. The rest of the building consists of luxury housing units.
Through all of the ballet’s endeavors, Pimble has cemented herself as both an advocate and sustainer of the arts in Eugene, with many attributing much of the company’s success to her enduring leadership. At 46 years in her position, she is believed to be the longest standing female artistic director of any ballet company.
Over that duration, Pimble has headed more than 110 performances and worked with hundreds of dancers. She has choreographed over 60 original works, including a number performed by the New York City Ballet. Her advocacy for the arts in Eugene and beyond earned her a Governor’s Arts Award from Gov. Kate Brown in 2020. As an organization, the Eugene Ballet received the Governor’s Arts Award from Gov. John Kitzhaber in 1997.
However, after nearly half a century of patronage, this year will mark the departure of the beloved director.
“I am stepping back in a financial way to make room for all these people that are coming up, that I want to see succeed with Eugene Ballet,” said Pimble.
In her stead, two former dancers who spent their careers under Pimble’s leadership will be joining forces to take on the roles of both director and choreographer.
"These are big shoes to fill, I won't deny that," said Jennifer Martin, who will assume Pimble’s title of Artistic Director.
Martin eagerly began her career with the company 26 seasons ago after driving 24 hours straight from Winnipeg, Canada to catch an audition. She was a dancer for 18 years before retiring and joining the company's administration.
Meanwhile, Suzanne Haag—who danced alongside Martin—spent 15 years under Pimble’s instruction before becoming the company’s resident choreographer.
Haag is set to assume the associate artistic directorship, and, although she plans to conceive new works, she says Pimble’s original ballets will always be honored.
“All of her ballets are in our bodies, so we’re ready to continue to stage them even when she’s not in the studio all the time,” said Haag.
Both former dancers say they’re committed to maintaining the co-founder’s vision for the company.
Meanwhile, Pimble says she will remain very involved with the company. When asked what retirement will look like, she laughed.
“Somebody asked me what I would be doing and I said ‘Oh, you mean when I’m sitting on the couch and I’m drinking my mint julep and I’m watching soap operas?’ And they all laughed and said, ‘You’re not gonna be doing that,’” said Pimble.
Though it’s unlikely that the longtime director will ever fully step away from her life’s work, the Eugene Ballet has planned a tribute season to celebrate her official legacy.
The schedule, which includes titles like Mowgli and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, will also feature a one-night-only performance of “The Toni’s:” a collection of her choreographed works throughout the years, all chosen by Pimble herself.
Performances will take the stage at the Hult Center from November until May. Showtimes and other information can be found at the Eugene Ballet website.
