Coastal Ballet of Florida takes the stage in Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay’s vibrant cultural landscape is expanding with the arrival of Coastal Ballet of Florida. Co-founded by renowned dancer and educator Heather Ossola, the new company offers a homegrown classical ballet company. It is the culmination of years spent on stage and behind the scenes by Ossola, whose career has taken her from the Ballet Theatre of Maryland to roles with Tampa Ballet Theatre. 

The closure of Tampa Bay classical companies during the COVID-19 pandemic spurred Ossola’s desire to fill a void in the community. 

“I just really felt like I had something to offer and give the Tampa Bay area a company that they deserve,” she says. “And I had some experience working as a ballet mistress, experience as being a dancer myself with directors and choreographers. Classical ballet is so timeless and beautiful. I really want to honor that tradition and its roots, while also bringing it into the present in ways that resonate with audiences today.”

Alongside co-founder Lauren Birnbaum, the company presented its first performance, “Coppélia,” in April. This season marks the company’s debut full-length lineup.

Ossola is keenly aware of the region’s artistic energy and sees a unique opportunity for classical ballet. 

“There is really no classical ballet, until now,” she says. “People love going to see the opera and the orchestra and, of course, traditional ‘Nutcracker.’ But there’s so many other ballets that are to be done, to be seen, to be respected.

“Usually, if people in our area want to see a classical ballet, say ‘Giselle’ for example, they have to wait for a touring company to come through, or travel to Sarasota or Orlando. My vision is that they don’t have to leave home — that they can experience those kinds of performances right here in their own community. We also want to give back beyond the stage, bringing ballet into community settings so more people can connect with it.”

The new company also fills a void for Tampa Bay’s dance talent.

“You have dancers who are from the area who don’t have to leave to find a job or who want to move to Florida and can join a company who is trying to provide its patrons a homegrown classical company that they can be proud of,” Ossola says.

Coastal Ballet launches as Bay Area contemporary troupe Tampa City Ballet is also working to expand into a full-time professional dance company. 

For Coastal Ballet’s October 18th season debut performance at the Largo Central Park Performing Arts Center, Ossola and Birnbaum have created a program that fuses classic and contemporary, with an original ballet set to Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” followed by the romantic masterpiece “Les Sylphides.”

“This first performance, we’re really excited about because we are focusing more on the classical arts, but it is important to always keep growing,” Ossola says. “With ‘Les Sylphides,’ it’s pretty much one of your bread-and-butter romantic ballets. You can’t get more classical than that. And the “Four Seasons” ballet is being originally choreographed by Lauren to music from the Four Seasons, and it’s a play on neoclassical and classical ballet and just giving the audience a little bit of a freshness to classical ballet.”

Currently, Coastal Ballet boasts 12 dancers, 10 company members and two apprentices, along with a unique trainee program for younger aspiring professionals. 

“Our trainee program is for 13- to 18-year-olds ,” Ossola says. “It gives those students who are wanting to focus a little bit more on professional training and performance, a closer look into the company. The company members themselves age from early 20s to late 30s.”

The ballet company is prioritizing community outreach during the upcoming year, building upon the initial efforts that began last season. The company aims to connect with a diverse array of local institutions, fostering a deeper appreciation for classical ballet and expanding its impact beyond traditional theater audiences.

“We went to a nursing home in Tampa and did a small ‘Nutcracker’ performance,” Ossola says. “We went to the Great Explorations Children’s Museum on their Sensory Friendly Day and gave a private performance of ‘Nutcracker’ there for those children. That’s something that we’re really looking forward to continuing. We’re doing the Great American Teach-In in November and sending some dancers to talk to the kids. Outreach is going to be a very, very important thing to us because we want to make ballet accessible to everyone.”

Looking ahead, one of her dreams is to someday welcome someone from the Balanchine Trust to stage “Serenade.”

 “Of course, we will need to continue to grow before something like that is possible, but it would be incredible to give not only our dancers that opportunity but also our Tampa Bay audiences,” Ossola says.

She would also love to collaborate with the Florida Orchestra for a ballet performance. 

“The idea of bringing the arts community together, having patrons experience ballet with live music, created and shared right here in their hometown, would be truly inspiring,” Ossola says.

Coastal Ballet’s inaugural full season features an enticing array of productions: “Modern Motions and Romantic Reveries” on October 18th, “The Nutcracker” in December, and “Cinderella” in April. 

“We’re really proud to be starting a homegrown classical ballet company for Tampa Bay,” Ossola says. “We’re excited about the cultural legacy that that will lead forward in years to come. We are a small group, and everyone really supports each other in class and rehearsals. It’s wonderful to see ballet bring people together, and it means so much to know that we’ve created a safe, uplifting space where everyone feels encouraged to bring their best self forward.”

For more information, go to Coastal Ballet of Florida