The mission of Texas Ballet Theater is to bring world class ballet to North Texas in order to engage the community, contribute to cultural knowledge and inspire an appreciation for the art of dance; to educate and train the next generation of world class dancers; to encourage creativity, collaboration and expression by creating a nationally recognized environment for dancers and choreographers to develop and showcase their talent.
Today, employing 38 professional dancers and operating two ballet academies serving 300 students, Texas Ballet Theater remains a vital component in the vibrant Texas arts community. As the largest, critically acclaimed, fully professional, resident classical ballet company of North Texas, the Ballet serves more than 100,000 individuals from the diverse communities across North Texas. Originally incorporated in 1961 as Fort Worth Ballet, the civic ballet troupe transitioned to full-time professional status in 1984. By the end of the 1990's, the newly renamed Fort Worth Dallas Ballet had made a name for itself on the national and international stage. To ensure continued artistic excellence, the Ballet’s Board hired preeminent artistic director and choreographer Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., in 2003. Additionally, leadership in Dallas and Fort Worth joined together in an historic partnership to provide the only arts organization in the Metroplex for two cities, Texas Ballet Theater. The goal was to give both cities a world-class company of the caliber unachievable by either city standing alone. Texas Ballet Theater's $7.3 million budget ranks it the second-largest professional ballet company in Texas, behind the $20 million Houston Ballet, and among the top seventeen largest American companies in the nation, according to Dance USA.
In addition to presenting the highest quality ballet productions, Texas Ballet Theater’s mission also focuses on broadening dance education in the community with inventive and creative programs while honoring the traditional teaching principles integral to the art form. The Ballet trains more than 300 aspiring young dancers, ages 4-21, through comprehensive pre-professional dance education programs in its Texas Ballet Theater School Dallas and Fort Worth Academies; reaches into the community to serve 300 1st-8th graders in Dallas and Fort Worth through the City Dance On-Campus Residency Program, offering free ballet lessons in underserved socio-economic regions of North Texas; presents student matinees to 20,000 area elementary school students at greatly reduced ticket prices; and develops ballet leadership among business professionals and community volunteers through unique programs, including Leadership Ballet and Lone Star Adagio.
Texas Ballet Theater sets the standard for artistic excellence in ballet productions and education outreach programs in the North Texas region. In recognition of its artistic excellence, Texas Ballet Theater is the only major performing arts organization to serve as a resident company of the major world-class performance venues of North Texas’ two largest cities, Fort Worth’s Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall and the AT&T Performing Arts Center Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House in Dallas.
Photo by Ellen Appel
