Springfield Ballet names executive director

Springfield Ballet Inc. has a new executive director at the wheel.

Evan Bennett took the helm Sept. 2, just over two years after the Springfield native returned to the Queen City and worked as audience development outreach coordinator for Springfield Regional Opera and Foreign Language Institute coordinator for Missouri State University.

"This position combines my passion for the arts with my love for the art of business," Bennett said via email. "The team at the ballet is also incredibly supportive and committed to serving our community through our art form."

He succeeds Business Affairs Manager Caitlin Kissee, who led the ballet to triples its special events profits and close a $10,000 budget gap left by a Missouri Arts Council grant reduced by 30 percent more than originally expected, according to Springfield Business Journal archives. Kissee took a job as director of community relations for startup Loehr Chiropractic and Acupuncture LLC, said Bennett. He noted the ballet board chose to rename the business affairs manager position back to executive director after Kissee held the job for about three and a half years.

Bennett, who grew up acting and singing in Springfield productions, left the city after graduating from Glendale High School to study vocal performance at Oberlin College's Conservatory of Music in Ohio. After finishing his master's in music at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, Bennett moved to Austria to work as an English-speaking teaching assistant as part of the Fulbright program's Austrian-American Educational Commission, according to a news release.

At the Springfield Ballet, Bennett is tasked with leading the nonprofit that offers dance training, performance and outreach programming. The ballet, which operates in The Creamery Arts Center, is governed by a 25-member board of directors.