After a lengthy performing career with the Pennsylvania Ballet and National Ballet of Canada, and having held senior faculty positions with many professional ballet companies, Phillip Carman came to OBT in 2018  He was the former Artistic Director of the Maryland Ballet, and Resident Director for the international tours of Rasta Thomas’ “Rock the Ballet’.  His talents and work as a choreographer, teacher, and mentor to young professional dancers were immeasurable – he brought years of experience, wisdom, and artistry to his work at OBT.  Phillip loved his OBT School students and derived great pleasure working with our OBT2 dancers, and helping to grow the Boys’ training program within the School.  Most recently, he was a featured choreographer in OBT2’s PIECES OF EIGHT, which premiered during OBT’s digital season in April 2020. This work was devised to challenge OBT2 company members with real-world experience of absorbing multiple choreographic styles and methods at once.

Phillip had an uncanny ability to see qualities in people that apparently no-one else could see. He was a savior to so many ballet students who had been overlooked or underestimated. He earned the admiration of his students by simply being his authentic self. Phillip reached thousands of people over a lifetime of dedication to the art of ballet through his performances with the Pennsylvania Ballet and National Ballet of Canada, his choreography, his teaching, and his wisdom. We are all in his debt for the wonderful contribution he made to us all, and he will be missed.