Azara Ballet adds artistic director position


  • By
  • | 8:30 a.m. May 20, 2025
Joshua Stayton has been hired as artistic director of Azara Ballet.
Joshua Stayton has been hired as artistic director of Azara Ballet.
Courtesy image
  • Arts + Culture
  • Share

Azara Ballet has hired Joshua Stayton as artistic director. A native of Cincinnati, Stayton is a dancer, choreographer and teacher. He will join the company formed by Kate and Martin Flowers for its third season in December.

Founded in 2023, Azara Ballet is a professional contemporary ballet company dedicated to the mental and emotional well-being of its dancers, their audiences and the community. 

In addition to its mission of embracing body positivity, Azara reaches out to neurodivergent and underprivileged communities through curated dance classes.

Stayton began his training at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati before joining the Orlando Ballet School and Houston Ballet II. During his career, he has also performed with the Cincinnati Ballet, Sarasota Ballet and Tulsa Ballet. 

Stayton's international performances have taken him to Hungary, Italy, Finland, Spain and Switzerland. 

As a choreographer, Stayton has had world premieres for Ballet 22, Tulsa Ballet’s second company, DeLa Dance Company, Azara Ballet and Cincinnati Ballet’s second company and academy. 

"I am looking forward to helping the dancers continue to find the light within them as artists," Stayton said in a statement. "In most of my experience in company environments, dancers often forget why they started dancing in the first place. They get lost in achieving 'perfection' and should always remember that dance is an expression of the heart."

Kate Flowers, Azara's co-founder and CEO, grew up dancing with Stayton and counts him as a lifelong friend. She said that Azara has decided to hire an artistic director to allow her and her husband Martin Roosaare Flowers to focus on running the nonprofit.

“Incorporating Joshua’s experience and commitment to the company is a huge step for our young company," she said in a statement. "We will be able to concentrate on the continued effort in securing community support, overseeing operations as well as the fact that we love to dance and choreograph ourselves.” 

 

Latest News

Sponsored Content