Staying Present, Looking Ahead with Brandon Ragland

This month's guest is Brandon Ragland, Artistic Director of Dayton Ballet, and an accomplished dancer, choreographer, educator, and arts leader. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Ragland trained at the Alabama School of Fine Arts before earning a B.S. in Dance-Arts Administration from Butler University. He began his professional career with Alabama Ballet, performing classical and neoclassical works by choreographers including George Balanchine, Christopher Bruce, Roger Van Fleteren, and Septime Webre. In 2010, he joined Louisville Ballet, where he spent 13 years as a leading artist performing works spanning classical ballet and contemporary choreography.

Throughout his career, Brandon has developed a multifaceted practice encompassing performance, choreography, teaching, and artistic leadership. His choreography has been presented by organizations including Louisville Ballet, Alabama Ballet, Ballet Arkansas, AROVA Contemporary Ballet, Next Generation Ballet, and others, while his contributions to the arts have been recognized with honors including the Lift A Life Foundation Emerging Leader in the Arts Award and Louisville Magazine's Best Artist Award. As Artistic Director of Dayton Ballet, he brings these experiences together in shaping a vision that honors ballet's traditions while creating space for new choreography, new stories, and the continued evolution of the art form.

OhioDance: A State of Dance is a six-part series coming out the fourth Friday of each month through November 2026. This podcast is driven by the OhioDance mission to secure the foothold of dance in Ohio through increasing visibility, firming viability, and elevating the position of dance in Ohio.

In 2016, a five-person team set out on a mission to capture the achievements of persons and institutions who have shaped the intricate diversity of dance history and practice within the state of Ohio and weave them together in an easily accessible digital format. This we call this the OhioDance Virtual Dance Collection. As of 2026 we have highlighted 46 individuals and institutions. The team has traveled over 5000 miles and interviewed hundreds of individuals in all five regions of Ohio.⁠ vdc.ohiodance.org⁠ If you like what you are listening to and are not a member of OhioDance, you can go to⁠ ohiodance.org⁠ and click the membership button to join and receive the many benefits that come with your membership. You can also donate through our purple donate button.