Atlanta Ballet

The Company
The Company
Dancers
	Jacob Bush, USA; Jackie Nash, USA; Nadia Mara, Uruguay; Jared Tan. USA;

Atlanta Ballet
Atlanta Ballet
General information
Name	Atlanta Ballet
Year founded	1929
Founder	Dorothy Alexander
Founding artistic director	Dorothy Alexander
Principal venue	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Website	www.atlantaballet.com
Artistic staff
Artistic Director	Gennadi Nedvigin
Ballet Masters	Angela Agresti; Eduardo Permuy; Rory Hohenstein;
Resident Choreographers	Claudia Schreier
Other
Official school	Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education

Atlanta Ballet is a ballet company, located in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the longest continuously performing ballet company in the United States^[1] and the State Ballet of Georgia.

History

Atlanta Ballet was founded in 1929 by Dorothy Alexander as the Dorothy Alexander Concert Group.^[2] During the 1940s, the organization was known as the Atlanta Civic Ballet,^[3] with Dorothy Alexander acting as Director. It was the nation's first regional ballet company. In 1946, the company became the first in the nation to help fund a symphony by donating the season's annual proceeds to the Atlanta Youth Symphony, which later developed into the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

In the 1950s, Robert Barnett joined the company from New York City Ballet as a principal dancer and associate director. Barnett received exclusive permission from George Balanchine to use his choreography for The Nutcracker as well as other signature works, making Atlanta Civic Ballet the only company in the country to perform works by Balanchine outside of New York City Ballet for several decades. Alexander guided her dance company for more than three decades before hand-picking her successor, Robert Barnett, who was named artistic director in 1961. In 1967, the company gained professional status as Atlanta Ballet.

In 1994, Robert Barnett retired from his role as artistic director and John McFall accepted the position. The focus of the company has shifted to include education.

In September 2015, the Atlanta Ballet Board of Trustees chair Allen W. Nelson announced artistic director John McFall would be leaving the organization. McFall joined Atlanta Ballet in 1994.

In February 2016, Atlanta Ballet announced ^[4] Gennadi Nedvigin, principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet would be joining the organization in August 2016. Nedvigin was born in Rostov, Russia, trained with The Bolshoi Ballet Academy and danced with Jeune Ballet de France before joining San Francisco Ballet as a soloist in 1997.

Atlanta Ballet today

The company employs 40 professional dancers in their main company and 16 dancers in their second company. Unlike many professional ballet companies, Atlanta Ballet does not divide its dancers into specifically designated ranks such as principal, soloist, or corps de ballet. Instead, company members all have an equal chance at being cast in leading roles for each ballet. The regular season runs from September to May with performances the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Spring 2011 marked the company's debut on the Alliance Stage at the Woodruff Arts Center for their performance of Ignition.

In addition to a vast collection of story ballets, ranging from Swan Lake to The Great Gatsby, The Atlanta Ballet has taken part in two collaborations with Grammy Award-winning artists. In 2001,^[5] the Indigo Girls joined them for the world premiere of Shed Your Skin choreographed by Margo Sappington, and in 2008, they joined forces with Antwan "Big Boi" Patton from Outkast for the world premiere of big choreographed by Lauri Stallings.

Atlanta Ballet celebrated its 80th anniversary in the 2009–10 season. The company also celebrated its 50th year of the Nutcracker, as well as artistic director, John McFall's 15th season. The ballet also welcomed new executive director Arthur Jacobus to the company. For the 2010-2011 season, the Atlanta Ballet performed Moulin Rouge: The Ballet, Atlanta Ballet's Nutcracker, Nutty Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Fusion: Lambarena as a world premier, and Ignition: New Choreographic Voices. The 2012–13 season included Michael Pink's Dracula, David Bintley's Carmina Burana, Ohad Naharin's Minus 16, Nutcracker, Cinderella and Gina Patterson's I Am.^[6] For the 2014–2015 season, the Atlanta Ballet performances include Nutcracker, Roméo et Juliette, Snow White, Camino Real, Modern Choreographic Voices, and MAYhem. MAYhem included THREE, The Exiled, and 1st Flash.^[7]

Education

In 1996, Atlanta Ballet opened the Centre for Dance Education,^[8] under the direction of John McFall and Sharon Story as dean. Today there are three locations in Virginia-Highlands, Buckhead, and West Midtown Atlanta. One of the largest fully accredited dance schools in the country, the centre educates students ages two through adult in various disciplines such as ballet, jazz, modern, tap, hip hop, pilates, and flamenco.

Choreographing Our Future campaign

In April 2009, the Robert W. Woodruff foundation made a $1 million commitment toward the Atlanta Ballet's $14.8 million "Choreographing Our Future" campaign, the largest fundraising effort in the company's history. The campaign not only funded the renovation and relocation to the new headquarters in Midtown West, but it also went towards expanding the marketing and development for the ballet.^[9] The ballet also received the single largest gift in its 79-year history – $3 million from the Michael C. and Thalia N. Carlos Foundation. The donations were part of a campaign to purchase and renovate the new headquarters on Marietta Boulevard west of midtown. The $3 million from the Carlos Foundation, to be paid over four years, is a naming gift: The new headquarters, which opened in May 2010, is named the Michael C. Carlos Dance Centre. The funds from the $14.8 million campaign will also be channeled into boosting the ballet's endowment, marketing and audience development, and toward long-term financial and artistic stability. Integral to the package is the inclusion of the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra in performances.^[10]

The new Atlanta Ballet headquarters was built in a 5,000 foot renovated warehouse.

Notes

^ Encyclopædia Britannica describes it as the nation's oldest civic ballet company.
^ Encyclopædia Britannica.
^ Encyclopædia Britannica, par. 1.
^ "Atlanta Ballet Names Gennadi Nedvigin New Artistic Director".
^ "Atlanta Ballet Season Archives".
^ Howton, Amy. "Atlanta Ballet's 2012–13 Season Announced, and Thoughts on Family". The Backstage Beat.
^ "Atlanta Ballet presents MAYhem". Creative Loafing Atlanta. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
^ Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education
^ Saporta, Maria (April 10, 2009), "Woodruff donation helps to lift Atlanta Ballet", Atlanta Business Chronicle
^ Ruhe, Pierre (January 14, 2009), "$3 million from Carlos Foundation boosts Atlanta Ballet", The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sources

"Dorothy Alexander". Encyclopædia Britannica. (subscription required)

External links

Official website

[1] Encyclopædia Britannica describes it as the nation's oldest civic ballet company.

[FOOTNOTEEncyclopædia_Britannica-2] Encyclopædia Britannica.

[FOOTNOTEEncyclopædia_Britannicapar._1-3] Encyclopædia Britannica, par. 1.

[4] "Atlanta Ballet Names Gennadi Nedvigin New Artistic Director".

[5] "Atlanta Ballet Season Archives".

[6] Howton, Amy. "Atlanta Ballet's 2012–13 Season Announced, and Thoughts on Family". The Backstage Beat.

[7] "Atlanta Ballet presents MAYhem". Creative Loafing Atlanta. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.

[8] Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education

[9] Saporta, Maria (April 10, 2009), "Woodruff donation helps to lift Atlanta Ballet", Atlanta Business Chronicle

[10] Ruhe, Pierre (January 14, 2009), "$3 million from Carlos Foundation boosts Atlanta Ballet", The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

v t e Ballet companies
Africa	Cairo Opera Ballet Company Cape Town City Ballet
Asia	Ballet Manila Ballet Philippines Guangzhou Ballet Gwangju City Ballet Hong Kong Ballet Iranian National Ballet Company Israel Ballet K-ballet Korea National Ballet National Ballet of China New National Theatre Tokyo Philippine Ballet Theatre Seoul Ballet Theatre Shanghai Ballet Company Singapore Dance Theatre State Ballet of Georgia Tokyo Ballet Universal Ballet
Europe	Ballet Cymru Ballet Ireland Ballet Romand Ballet Zürich Les Ballets Persans Ballets Russes Barcelona Ballet Bayerisches Staatsballett Béjart Ballet Berlin State Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Charleroi Danses Cork City Ballet Royal Danish Ballet Donetsk Ballet Dutch National Ballet Eifman Ballet English National Ballet Finnish National Ballet Royal Ballet of Flanders Sukhishvili Georgian National Ballet Grand Kyiv Ballet Greek National Opera Hamburg Ballet Hungarian National Ballet Kyiv Ballet Kyiv City Ballet Kyiv Modern-Ballet La Scala Theatre Ballet Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet Mariinsky Ballet Mikhailovsky Theatre Ballet National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Moldova The Monte-Carlo Ballet National Opera and Ballet of Bulgaria Northern Ballet Norwegian National Opera and Ballet Novosibirsk Theatre Ballet Odesa Opera and Ballet Theatre Original Ballet Russe Paris Opera Ballet Perm Theatre Ballet Polish National Ballet National Ballet of Portugal The Royal Ballet Rambert Dance Company Russian State Ballet of Siberia Saint Petersburg Ballet Theatre Scottish Ballet Spanish National Dance Company Stanislavski Ballet Stuttgart Ballet Royal Swedish Ballet Théâtre du Silence Turkish State Opera and Ballet United Ukrainian Ballet Company Vienna State Ballet
North America	Alabama Ballet Alberta Ballet Company Alexandra Ballet Alonzo King LINES Ballet American Ballet Theatre American Midwest Ballet American Repertory Ballet Anaheim Ballet Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Atlanta Ballet Atlanta Festival Ballet Ballet Arizona Ballet Austin Ballet BC Ballet Des Moines Ballet Fantastique Ballet Hispanico Ballet Magnificat! Ballet Memphis BalletMet Ballet Minnesota Ballet Quad Cities Ballet San Jose Ballet Theatre of Maryland Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo Ballet West Ballez Bay Pointe Ballet Boston Ballet Les Grands Ballets Canadiens California Riverside Ballet Carolina Ballet Charlotte Ballet Chicago Ballet Chicago Festival Ballet Cincinnati Ballet Cleveland Ballet (1935 · 1972 · 2014) Colorado Ballet Complexions Contemporary Ballet Cuban National Ballet Dance Theatre of Harlem Dayton Ballet Greensboro Ballet Houston Ballet Joffrey Ballet Kansas City Ballet Los Angeles Ballet Louisville Ballet Moscow Ballet (United States) National Ballet of Canada National Ballet Theater of Puerto Rico New Jersey Ballet New York City Ballet Oklahoma City Ballet Oregon Ballet Theatre Pacific Northwest Ballet Pennsylvania Ballet Pittsburgh Ballet Royal Winnipeg Ballet San Francisco Ballet The Washington Ballet Tulsa Ballet Wonderbound
Oceania	The Australian Ballet Ballet Theatre of Queensland Queensland Ballet Melbourne City Ballet Royal New Zealand Ballet West Australian Ballet
South America	Ballet Municipal de Lima Chilean National Ballet Colon Theater Ballet National Ballet of Uruguay

v t e Dance companies in the United States
Ballet	Alabama Ballet Alameda Civic Ballet Alexandra Ballet Alonzo King LINES Ballet American Ballet Theatre American Repertory Ballet Anaheim Ballet Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Atlanta Ballet Atlanta Festival Ballet Ballet Arizona Ballet Austin Ballet Des Moines Ballet Fantastique Ballet Magnificat! Ballet Memphis BalletMet Ballet Minnesota Ballet Nouveau Colorado Ballet Quad Cities Ballet San Jose Ballet Theatre of Maryland Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo Ballet West Ballez Bay Area Houston Ballet and Theatre Bay Pointe Ballet Boston Ballet California Riverside Ballet Carolina Ballet Cedar Lake Charlotte Ballet Chicago Ballet Chicago Festival Ballet Cincinnati Ballet Cleveland Ballet Colorado Ballet Complexions Concert Ballet of Virginia Dance Theatre of Harlem Dayton Ballet Eugene Ballet Folsom Lake Civic Ballet Greensboro Ballet Gwinnett Ballet Theatre Houston Ballet James Sewell Ballet Joffrey Ballet Kansas City Ballet Los Angeles Ballet Louisville Ballet Miami City Ballet Morphoses Mystic Ballet National Ballet Theater of Puerto Rico New Jersey Ballet New York City Ballet Oklahoma City Ballet Oregon Ballet Theatre Pacific Northwest Ballet Pennsylvania Ballet Pittsburgh Ballet Richmond Ballet San Francisco Ballet Sarasota Ballet Suzanne Farrell Ballet Texas Ballet Theater Tulsa Ballet The Washington Ballet
Contemporary	Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater AXIS Dance Company Ballet Deviare Ballet Hispanico Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company Dayton Contemporary Dance Company Dominic Walsh Hubbard Street Lar Lubovitch Martha Graham Momix Paul Taylor The Philadelphia Dance Company Pilobolus Ririe-Woodbury sjDANCEco Urban Bush Women Whim W'Him L.A. Dance Project
Other	Chicago Dance Crash Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater Ice Theatre of New York The LXD The Rockettes