Marcello Angelini honors retiring principal dancer Ashley Blade-Martin

Ashley Blade-Martin in Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Sharen Bradford.

Ashley Blade-Martin and Alfonso Martin in Nacho Duato's Por Vos Muero. Photo by Sharen Bradford.




When I came to Tulsa 16 years ago, the thought of
a dancer spending most of his or her career and
retiring with my company was not something I ever
would have imagined happening. But at the end of
this season, this will become a reality when we see
one of Tulsa Ballet’s most dedicated dancers take
her last bow.

After 12 seasons with our company, Ashley Blade-
Martín, or just “Blade” as I like to call her, has decided
to hang up her pointe shoes. While it is heartbreaking
for all of us to think that we will no longer experience
Ashley’s beautiful artistry, it is important that we take
time during her last performances to celebrate her
career and many contributions to the company.
We are all going to miss Ashley. She is part of Tulsa
Ballet’s backbone, one of those handful of dancers
who made the company into what it is today. With
her husband Alfonso Martín, she has survived
many iterations of the company and inspired many
generations of dancers, patrons and audience
members. Her respect for the art form, commitment
to the company, willingness to set the standards for
the rest of the company not only on stage but every
minute of every day, in the studio or in the theater,
is the “stuff” that makes a dancer lead a company
of artists from all over the world into a cohesive,
polished and attractive troupe. The differences
people like Ashley make distinguish the ordinary
from the extraordinary.

Ashley will pursue a career in nursing, a calling she
identified early in her life. We all wish her a brilliant
career in the medical field and an equal amount
of success and personal accomplishment as she
achieved in dance. Ashley, you will be missed!

Marcello Angelini,
Artistic Director