 During his tenure, he expanded the company's repertory by acquiring the works of the world's most respected choreographers, commissioning new works, staging the classics and choreographing original works.During this time as artistic director of America's fifth-biggest ballet company, and when Barbara Bush was a trustee of the company, in 1978 Stevenson visited Beijing and offered the Chinese dancer, Li Cunxin a six-week scholarship to America and later on his defection, offered him a position with the company.Cunxin returned where he danced at the gala at Stevenson's retirement after 27 years with the Houston Ballet.