A message from the Board:
PRESS RELEASE DATED 10 JULY 2026
Contact: Lucas Ramsour, Redding City Ballet
Phone: 530-709-1205
Email: lucas.ramsour@reddingcityballet.org
A Message from the Redding City Ballet Board of Directors:
Redding City Ballet Prevails in Court
In August of 2023, Redding City Ballet parted ways with its former Artistic Director, Diana Christensen. There were fundamental differences in leadership philosophy between Ms. Christensen and the Redding City Ballet Board of Directors that could not be overcome. Our statement at that time can be found below.
Rather than simply moving forward, Ms. Christensen chose to actively interfere with Redding City Ballet’s operations, including our 2023 Nutcracker performance at the Cascade Theatre. Ms. Christensen refused to allow Redding City Ballet access to its property that was stored at her dance studio (The Redding Arts Project) and refused to return a significant amount of Redding City Ballet’s property that she had in her possession. This property included custom hand-made costumes, props, set pieces, and stage backdrops.
Redding City Ballet attempted to resolve these issues directly with Ms. Christensen; however these efforts were not successful. Redding City Ballet had no choice but to take legal action against Ms. Christensen.
Following a nine-day trial, the court found Ms. Christensen’s behavior “clearly tortious and improper” and awarded Redding City Ballet almost $100,000 in damages. The court found Ms. Christensen liable for Breach of Contract, Intentional Interference with Prospective Contracts/Business Relations, and unlawful conversion of Redding City Ballet’s property for her own personal use.
While it was unfortunate that this action even had to be taken, Redding City Ballet is grateful for the Court’s thorough ruling which recognizes its ownership of these assets and holds Ms. Christensen accountable for her wrongful actions. This decision allows us to protect our artistic property and continue our mission to present classical, contemporary and innovative concert dance to a broad audience and to increase accessibility to the arts for the schools of the North State area through educational outreach programs, lectures and performances.
Redding City Ballet was represented by Kelsey Walsh of Prentice Long and Tracey Buck-Walsh of Healdsburg, CA and is grateful for their assistance with this case.
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Lucas Ramsour, Redding City Ballet Vice President, at 530-709-1205 or lucas.ramsour@reddingcityballet.org.
A message from our president:
Dear Redding City Ballet Supporters,
Redding City Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker has long been a source of quality performing arts education and entertainment for our community. Over the past several years, the production has grown and drawn in many talented and committed individuals who have provided new energy and ideas that continue to make this community-based organization thrive.
This expansion in our leadership pool has allowed us to share responsibilities and accomplish more together. Our Board of Directors firmly believes that a strong culture of collaboration, shared authority, and mutual responsibility is essential to the success of our productions. The health and growth of our dancers is our top priority. An important part of our journey has been navigating through differing ideas and opinions while forging a path forward that will best serve our mission, our dancers, and our community.
After welcoming several new Board members in the spring of 2022, our Board worked diligently to understand and agree on the direction of our organization and its leadership structure. As sometimes happens during times of change and expansion, some individuals working with our Board held opinions that diverged significantly from the vision of collaborative leadership that began to coalesce. Over time, it became evident that we would not be able to reconcile these differences in a productive manner. Due to these irreconcilable philosophical differences, the Board has made the decision to move forward this year with a new Artistic Director. We want to express our gratitude to those who have provided leadership for this organization in the past and for all the ways they have helped to grow the Redding City Ballet in size and quality of experience for our dancers and audiences.
As we look to the future, we are excited to announce that Ashley Ramsour will be stepping in as our 2023 Nutcracker Artistic Director with Julie Smyrnos serving alongside her as our 2023 Nutcracker Assistant Artistic Director. With the vision of our artistic team, the commitment of our Board of Directors, and the talent and enthusiasm of our dancers and volunteers, we know that the Redding City Ballet will continue to flourish for years to come.
Thank you for your continued support of our efforts to bring quality dance productions and dance education to our community.
Sincerely,
Chris Steward, President
RCB Board of Directors