Biography
Inspired by the Russian defector, Rudolph Nureyev, Ron Cunningham began his dance career in Chicago at age 23 with former principals of the Royal Ballet. Moving to New York he trained at ABT, with Merce Cunningham and performed with the Agnes DeMille Heritage Dance Theatre, the Modern dance companies of Lucas Hoving, Daniel Nagrin, Lotte Goslar, and toured with several Broadway musicals.
Cunningham joined the Boston Ballet for 13 years becoming a principal dancer, resident choreographer and director of Boston Ballet II. For the Boston Ballet he created over 20 ballets including his Cinderella as the first American Ballet company to tour the People’s Republic of China. In Beijing, his Cinderella was televised to over 30 million viewers. His ballets have been performed in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Israel, France and widely throughout Italy including a full evening of his works at the Teatro Massimo. His works also appear in over twenty professional American ballet companies and he as been active in Regional Dance America (RDA) multiple times as an Adjudicator and Director of Choreography Workshops.
Cunningham and his wife, Carinne Binda, became Artistic Directors of the Sacramento Ballet in 1987, a position they held for 30 years. Under their leadership the Sacramento Ballet achieved national recognition for its diverse repertory and community engagement. Cunningham created or staged over 50 of his original works for the Sacramento Ballet. Cunningham has received two National Endowment Fellowships, and Choreography Fellowships form the states of Massachusetts, Maryland, and California. He has received multiple Arts Excellence awards from the Sacramento Arts & Business Council including the Lifetime Achievement in 2012. In 2017 he received the Legend of the Arts award from the California Arts Commission and in 2018 given the Keys to the City by the mayor of Sacramento. Also in 2018, the Sacramento community honored the Cunningham’s by erecting a 15’ x 40’ mural on a prominent building from a photo of them rehearsing dancers. Cunningham holds a B.S. Degree in Marketing and has been an adjunct professor at UC Davis. Cunningham is currently honored as the Artistic Director Emeritus of the Sacramento Ballet.