As a member of the New York City Ballet, Mr. Fleming danced principal and soloist roles in works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, and John Taras. He headed a group of soloist and principals from the New York City Ballet, which toured Europe and performed his own choreography as well as that of Balanchine. With Mr. Balanchine’s encouragement he embarked on a career as a choreographer and received a fellowship from the National Choreographic Institute. Mr. Fleming served as the Artistic Director of the Compania Colombiana de Ballet at the Teatro Colon in Bogota, Colombia from 1985 to 1990. He accepted the position of Artistic Director of Bay Ballet Theatre in Tampa, Florida in 1992 and served in that capacity through 1994.
He has choreographed a broad variety of works appearing in the repertoire of a number of different companies including (in addition to the above) The Atlanta Ballet, The Sarasota Ballet, Southern Ballet Theatre, and Dayton Ballet. Included are traditional full-length works such as The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Coppelia and Swan Lake, as well as, original full-length works Gaspar, Dracula, and The Three Musketeers. All three of these original works were in collaboration with composer Dr. David Goldstein, MD.
Mr. Fleming has directed for the stage an international tour of the play K2 and choreographed the world premiere of Honky Tonk Angels the Garth Brooks musical. His work was seen Off-Broadway in 1996, with the choreography for Anne Frank and Me at the American Jewish Theatre.
His pas de deux “Opus #3” was created for former Kirov Ballet principals Elena Martinson and Andrei Ustinov and was presented at the 1996 anniversary gala for the National Theatre of Estonia. It was repeated with Mr. Fleming in attendance in Dallas in May 1997, for a gala commemorating the 10th Anniversary of Ms. Martinson’s defection from the former Soviet Union.
In April of 1997, Mr. Fleming choreographed and staged the Grand Opening Ceremonies for the World Premiere of the international museum tour, TITANIC: The Exhibition, in Memphis, TN. The ceremonies were presented on the 85th Anniversary of the sinking of that great ship. Performed in the Pyramid Arena, the ceremonies were seen by a live audience of 4,000, as well as, being covered in the press and on television.
In May of the same year, he was named Artistic Director of the new Ballet Theatre International, which debuted in October of 1997. The season included Mr. Fleming’s full-length production of Dracula, as well as, a new critically acclaimed production of The Nutcracker accompanied by The Florida Orchestra.
Currently, Mr. Fleming serves as Assistant Director of The Rock School of Philadelphia. Some of his endeavors in Philadelphia have included working with The Philadelphia Orchestra. In June 1998, Mr. Fleming choreographed for their summer season at the Mann Music Center featuring dancers from The Pennsylvania Ballet and The Rock School. Mr. Fleming also continues to work as a freelance choreographer traveling to create works for many companies. He created Janice and Joe for Dayton Ballet, which premiered in February 1999, and Ginestera Concerto for Ballet Concierto in Puerto Rico during the same year.
For the year 2000, Mr. Fleming has created The Edge of Assurances for the Ohio Ballet, Playball (A Nine Inning Baseball Ballet) for the Ohio and Dayton Ballets and two new works for The State Ballet of St. Petersburg that will premiere in the fall of 2000.
In November, Dvorak Story, an original ballet, was created for the Czech National Ballet
to open their newly renovated, one hundred year old Dvorak Opera House and in December, the premiere of a new musical debuted at The Prince Theatre to the classic tale, “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.”
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR:
1997-1999 Ballet Theatre International, St. Petersburg, FL.
1992-1994 Bay Ballet Theatre, Tampa, FL.
1986-1990 Compania Columbiana de Ballet, Colombia, South America
GUEST TEACHER:
Armstrong State College
St. Pauls School
Danza Expo (Barranquilla, Colombia)
Teatro Libre (Bogata, Colombia)
Dimitrius A. Klein Company
The Atlanta Ballet
Festival de Danza (Bogata, Colombia)
The Carlisle Project
Florida Dance Festival
The Charlotte City Ballet Company
Jacksonville University
The Florida School of the Performing Arts
Metropolitan Opera (Ballet Company)
The Rock School of Pennsylvania Ballet
New World School of the Arts
The University Nacional (Bogata,Colombia)
Sarasota Ballet
The University of North Carolina
Southern Ballet Theatre
The Ohio Ballet
Dayton Ballet
MASTER CLASSES:
United States:
FL- Boca Raton, Disney World, Fort Walton Beach, Jacksonville, Kissimmee, Lake Worth, Miami, Orlando, Palatka, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Tampa, and West Palm Beach
NC- Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Davidson, SC- Greenville NY-Woodstock, Saratoga Springs TX- Dallas, Houston GA- Atlanta and Savannah OH- Cleveland, Akron, Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati LA- New Orleans AZ- Phoenix MA- Boston CT- Westport NM- Santa Fe WV- Princeton
International:
Barranquilla, Bogota, Cathagena, and Cali Medellin, Colombia
San Jose, Costa Rica - Florence and Rome, Italy Syracuse, Sicily -
St. Petersburg, Russia - Ostrava, Czech Republic
DANCER:
1978-1986 New York City Ballet
1977-1978 American Ballet Theatre
1976-1977 Ballet Repertory Company (ABT II)
Principal or Soloist Roles with New York City Ballet:
Balanchine- Western Symphony, Orpheus, Episodes, Union Jack, Who Cares, Symphony in C, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, Jewels, Nutcracker
Robbins- Fancy Free, Interplay, Fanfare, Four Chamber Works, The Concert, Moves, Mother Goose
Martins- L’Histoire du Soldat
Taras- Souvenirs de Florence
Performed in works by choreographers:
Twyla Tharp, Anthony Tudor, Kenneth McMillian, Fredrick Ashton, Agnes de Mille, Ronn Forella, Jacques D’Ambois, Mikail Baryshnikov