The Lexington Ballet has named Lexington Philharmonic education director Joe Tackett as its executive director. Part of his mission will be helping the ballet hire a new professional company of dancers.

Joe Tackett speaks at a WEKU event in May.

In making the move, Ballet board president Michael Potapov said, “Over the past several years the Board has worked to position the organization to once again become a pillar of the cultural landscape in Lexington.”

The Lexington Ballet was one of the city’s leading arts groups until 1998, when a financial crisis forced it to fire its company of professional dancers. Some of those dancers splintered off to form what is now the Kentucky Ballet Theatre. Since then, the Lexington Ballet has struggled through ups and downs, hiring professional dancers on a couple of occasions but primarily presenting productions featuring students from its school and guest artists.

Tackett will join artistic director Luis Dominguez, who has been with the ballet since 2003, in leading the company.

For the past four seasons, Tackett has been the education director of the Lexington Philharmonic and its librarian, in addition to playing bass with the orchestra. Philharmonic audiences got to know him over the past two seasons as the moderator of pre-show chats with candidates to succeed George Zack as the orchestra’s music director. The orchestra hired Charleston (S.C.) Symphony Orchestra resident conductor Scott Terrell in April.

In the Ballet’s release, Tackett said, “”The ballet is poised to become a leading force for the arts in the Bluegrass, and I can’t wait to be a part of the excitement!”