Winter storm damage

Texas Ballet Theater shuts down Fort Worth headquarters after 'catastrophic' storm damage

They're temporarily moving all student performances and company dancer rehearsals to Dallas.

Facebook/Texas Ballet Theater School

Dallas-Fort Worth's premier dance company, Texas Ballet Theater, is in recovery mode after a water pipe break during Winter Storm Uri shut down operations of its Fort Worth headquarters.

"Unfortunately, Texas Ballet Theater (TBT) was not spared the devastation [of the storm] and sustained catastrophic damage to the Fort Worth facility due to a massive water pipe break," the company wrote in an email to patrons February 24.

The Fort Worth facility, at 1540 Mall Circle near Ridgmar Mall, is home to offices, rehearsal and class studios, costume storage, and more.

"Over the weekend, a team, including members of the Board of Governors and staff, came together for an immediate and robust effort to salvage, organize, and transport costumes, furniture, and technology for safekeeping," the company told patrons.

They discovered that ankle-deep water had destroyed all specialized sprung ballet floors in every studio, among other damages.

According to the email, after extracting the water, the team had to:

Remove and/or dispose of computers and furniture in the building, including the majority of TBT's artistic, production, company management, executive, and financial services office spaces.
Transport the entire wardrobe department to TBT warehouses, an emergency call answered by TBT’s local union stage crew.
Mitigate additional damage by lowering the temperature in the building to below 50 degrees.
Temporarily transition student performances and company dancer rehearsals for this spring’s Mixed Repertoire digital series at TBT studios in Dallas.

"It is impossible to overstate the damage to the Fort Worth facility," the email said. "The building will remain inoperable for the near future, and TBT is strategizing how to restore operations in accordance with the organization’s long-term vision and as good stewards of its resources."

The building destruction comes as a crushing blow to the company after a year of financial and artistic hardship due to COVID-19. The pandemic has forced the cancellation of six of their productions, including the annual holiday presentation of The Nutcracker.

Because of ongoing health concerns, restrictions on audience size, and the closure of Bass Hall, they've pivoted to a virtual format for their spring season, with the first performances streaming March 18.

“It’s a heartbreaking situation, but the events of the past year have shown us that we have a resilient community," says TBT executive director Vanessa Logan. "The support we’ve received to our Relief Fund inspires us as we take the next steps in this process.”

To find out how to support the ballet, visit their website.

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Ancient Sculpture News

Fort Worth museum one of only 3 in U.S. to get rare sculpture exhibit

Lorenzo di Masi/Torlonia Collection

The Torlonia Nile

A major exhibition of ancient Roman masterworks is coming to the U.S. for the first time to be viewed at only three museums — including the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.

Called Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection, it's an assemblage of works stewarded by the Torlonia Family beginning in the early-19th century, and will be installed at the Kimbell from September 14, 2025 – January 25, 2026.

As part of the Foundation’s mission to showcase these historical works to the public, the exhibition will premiere at the Art Institute of Chicago on March 15 through June 29, before traveling to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Its third stop will be at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, from March 14 - July 19, 2026.

The Torlonia Collection was established during the course of the 19th century by the Franco-Italian banker Prince Giovanni Torlonia and his son Alessandro, then handed down over generations, eventually growing into the largest private collection of ancient Roman sculptures.

Today, the Torlonia Foundation represents the culmination of the Family’s continued passion for art. Created at the behest of Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1925–2017), the Foundation’s mission is to preserve and promote the Torlonia Collection and Villa Albani Torlonia.

In 1876, Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1800-1886) created a museum to house and exhibit the Family’s holdings, which was open to small groups until its closure at the onset of World War II. The sculptures remained unseen by the public from that time until the Foundation’s first exhibition at the Musei Capitolini in Rome in 2020. That was followed by a stint at the Louvre, the first presentation of the collection outside of Rome, where it has drawn more than 600,000 visitors to date, an unprecedented feat.

The exhibit
The curators of Myth & Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection are Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff of the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition is co-organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, in collaboration with the Kimbell Art Museum, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and The Museum Box. All of the sculptures in the exhibition have been restored by the Foundation with the support of Bvlgari.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue co-published by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, edited by Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff, with essays by Silvia Beltrametti and Salvatore Settis.

The North American presentation will feature 58 highlights from the Torlonia Collection, including 24 newly restored works that have not been on view in nearly a century. The sculptures date from approximately the 5th century BCE to the early 4th century CE, with the majority of the works dating to the High Imperial period (1st–2nd centuries CE). Highlights include examples of the most emblematic genres of ancient marble sculpture, acquired by the Torlonia Family from the most prominent collections of Rome’s patrician families, as well as from excavations made on the Family’s own estates throughout Italy.

“The Foundation is excited to be sharing the Torlonia Collection with audiences in North America for the first time. This exceptional group of ancient sculptures is a testament to the enduring cultural legacy of ancient Rome, as well as the vision and passion of multiple generations of the Torlonia Family,” said Alessandro Poma Murialdo, President of the Torlonia Foundation.

The presentation is organized thematically in six sections, featuring sculptures found on the Torlonia Family’s properties in Rome and the surrounding suburbs and their estate in Porto, Portugal, as well as a number of exceptional sarcophagi (stone coffins), among the largest sculpted works in marble to survive from ancient Rome.

The tour reinforces the work of the Foundation to advance the appreciation and understanding of this unparalleled collection and the rich cultural heritage it represents. The Foundation’s mission is carried out through a continuous joint effort between the public and private sectors, including with the cooperation of the Italian Ministry of Culture. The Foundation is supported by a longstanding collaboration with Bvlgari as the principal sponsor of the restoration project since its inception in Rome and throughout the global tour, and Chiomenti, who has lent invaluable support to the Foundation’s core activities.

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