MEMPHIS, Tenn. — For years, the Rameys have been hand in hand for every twist and turn on stage at Ballet Memphis in Midtown. Now, they’re teaching ballet to Memphis’s next generation.
The duo dates back to 2012. “They told me, ‘We’re bringing back one of our principal dancers,'” said Brandon Ramey. That dancer was Virginia Pilgrim, better known as Ginny.
“They said, ‘She’s tall, and you’re going to dance with her a lot, and you’re going to love her.’ I didn’t know how much I would love her,” said Brandon. Their chemistry on the stage blossomed into a love off the stage.
“I joined Mallet Memphis fairly young, at about 17. I started dancing professionally. Well into my career, Brandon Ramey shows up, and it was just over for me,” said Virginia. Their first performance together was as Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince in The Nutcracker.
“Just getting to know him through the rehearsal process, we just became such good friends right away, and then eventually, we fell in love,” said Virginia.
First came love and marriage; now, the Rameys have a beautiful family with two daughters.
“When you think about what ballet has done for me and my life from when I was a little kid taking my first lessons, it has brought me this far. It’s tied me to a loving family and helped me build my own family, and I feel very lucky,” said Brandon.
Through the years, their love of ballet and each other has led them to many places. It even landed them on WREG during the pandemic when they turned their living room into a dance studio.
In April, the curtain closed on their professional time together on stage — they were Prince Charming and Cinderella appropriately.
“The curtain closes with us embracing, and we joke that now you get to see what Cinderella and the Prince do after they ride off into the sunset; They direct a ballet school,” said Virginia.
After their performance in Cinderella, the two have retired from the stage and are Co-Directors of Ballet Memphis– where it all started.
“To have that opportunity to take our knowledge and pass it on to the next generation was a once-in-the-lifetime opportunity,” said Brandon. “I just feel so blessed,” said Virginia.
