Atlanta Ballet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Atlanta Ballet |
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| General information | |
| Name | Atlanta Ballet |
| Year founded | 1929 |
| Founding Artistic Director | Dorothy Alexander |
| Principal venue | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| Artistic staff | |
| Artistic Director | Gennadi Nedvigin |
| Resident Choreographers | Claudia Schreier |
| Other | |
| Official school | Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education |
The Atlanta Ballet is a famous dance company located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It's special because it's the oldest ballet company in the United States that has been performing non-stop since it started! It's also known as the official State Ballet of Georgia.
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History of the Atlanta Ballet
The Atlanta Ballet was started in 1929 by a talented dancer named Dorothy Alexander. Back then, it was called the Dorothy Alexander Concert Group.
In the 1940s, its name changed to the Atlanta Civic Ballet. Dorothy Alexander was still in charge. This company was the very first regional ballet group in the entire country! In 1946, they did something amazing. They gave all the money they earned from their shows to the Atlanta Youth Symphony. This symphony later grew into the famous Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
In the 1950s, a dancer named Robert Barnett joined the company. He came from the New York City Ballet. Robert Barnett got special permission from a very famous choreographer, George Balanchine. This allowed the Atlanta Civic Ballet to perform Balanchine's works, like The Nutcracker. For many years, Atlanta was the only place outside of New York City where you could see these special ballets.
Dorothy Alexander led the company for over 30 years. In 1961, she chose Robert Barnett to take over as the artistic director. In 1967, the company officially became a professional group and was named the Atlanta Ballet.
In 1994, Robert Barnett retired. John McFall became the new artistic director. Under his leadership, the company started to focus more on dance education. John McFall left the company in 2015.
In 2016, Gennadi Nedvigin became the new artistic director. He was a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet. Nedvigin was born in Rostov, Russia, and trained at The Bolshoi Ballet Academy.
Atlanta Ballet Today
The Atlanta Ballet has about 40 professional dancers in its main company. It also has 16 dancers in its second company. What's cool is that unlike many other ballet companies, Atlanta Ballet doesn't have strict ranks like "principal dancer" or "soloist." All company members have an equal chance to be chosen for leading roles in different ballets.
The ballet season usually runs from September to May. Performances are held at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. In 2011, the company also performed at the Woodruff Arts Center for their show Ignition.
The Atlanta Ballet performs many classic story ballets, like Swan Lake and The Great Gatsby. They have also worked with Grammy Award-winning musicians! In 2001, the Indigo Girls joined them for a new ballet called Shed Your Skin. In 2008, they teamed up with Antwan "Big Boi" Patton from the group Outkast for a show called big.
The Atlanta Ballet celebrated its 80th birthday in the 2009–10 season. They also celebrated 50 years of performing The Nutcracker. Some of the ballets they have performed include:
- Moulin Rouge: The Ballet
- Nutty Nutcracker
- Sleeping Beauty
- Fusion: Lambarena
- Ignition: New Choreographic Voices
- Michael Pink's Dracula
- David Bintley's Carmina Burana
- Ohad Naharin's Minus 16
- Cinderella
- Gina Patterson's I Am
- Roméo et Juliette
- Snow White
- Camino Real
- Modern Choreographic Voices
- MAYhem (which included ballets like THREE, The Exiled, and 1st Flash)
Dance Education
In 1996, the Atlanta Ballet opened the Centre for Dance Education. This school teaches dance to people of all ages, from two years old to adults. It's one of the biggest accredited dance schools in the country.
The Centre for Dance Education has three locations: Virginia-Highlands, Buckhead, and West Midtown Atlanta. Students can learn many different dance styles, including:
Supporting the Ballet
In 2009, the Robert W. Woodruff foundation gave $1 million to the Atlanta Ballet. This was part of a big fundraising effort called "Choreographing Our Future." This campaign aimed to raise $14.8 million. The money helped the ballet move to a new headquarters and grow its marketing efforts.
The ballet also received a huge gift of $3 million from the Michael C. and Thalia N. Carlos Foundation. This money helped them buy and renovate their new home. The new headquarters, which opened in May 2010, is now called the Michael C. Carlos Dance Centre. These donations also help the ballet's long-term financial stability and ensure the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra can perform with the dancers.
The new Atlanta Ballet headquarters was built in a large, renovated warehouse.
Images for kids
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Atlanta Ballet logo
