Who We Are 

The Wilmington Ballet Company was founded in 1999 to perform professional quality ballets in the Wilmington, North Carolina area.  The Wilmington Ballet Company is a non-profit organization.   
 

Our History

The Company’s first performance was the ballet Cinderella, performed in November, 2000 at historic Thalian Hall. In addition to the public performances, the Company also provided the opportunity for 1500 school children to attend the ballet.   In subsequent years, the Wilmington Ballet Company has performed for over 3000 children through our ongoing school programs.  In the year 2005, the Company invited the Wilmington Symphony Youth Orchestra to perform live music for the ballet The Little Mermaid. WSYO also performed for the ballet Cinderella in 2006 and for The Elephant’s Child and Other Variations in 2007.  The Wilmington Ballet Company has hosted guest artists from the Atlanta Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet, and both have held summer programs for area dancers. 

Our Dancers

The Wilmington Ballet Company has set a new standard for dance training and performance in Southeastern North Carolina. Numerous dancers from the Company have chosen to participate in the Carolina Ballet's summer intensive program at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Dancers from the Company have also been accepted to, and attended, the following prestigious summer programs:  the Atlanta Ballet Company, the Joffrey Ballet, the Boston Ballet, the School of American Ballet, the Kirov Academy, the North Carolina School of the Arts, and Harid Conservatory.   In 2006, a member of the ballet company was a finalist at the Youth America Grand Prix Regional, one of the most prestigious competitions in the world of classical ballet.  She is the first Wilmingtonian to achieve this status.

Our Professional Affiliations

In 2006-2007, the University of North Carolina, Wilmington Department of Cultural Arts and the Watson School of Business collaborated with the Wilmington Youth Symphony and the Wilmington Ballet Company to create a curriculum that met the standard course of study for elementary students and expanded the school outreach program.  In 2007, The Wilmington Ballet Company performed excerpts from the Nutcracker with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra.  The Company invited professional dancers from the Louisville Ballet Company to perform in these sold our performances.  Over the years, The Wilmington Ballet Company has received grants from Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, North Carolina Arts Council, Target, Wal-Mart, the Landfall Foundation, the Cape Fear Memorial Foundation, Southeastern Community Foundation, and the New York Times Foundation.  The Company has created a repertoire of ballets, both classical and modern.  They include: Cinderella, Coppelia, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and the Elephant’s Child.  

Our Future

The Wilmington Ballet Company’s immediate goal is to perform a full-length Nutcracker at historic Thalian Hall in the 2008-2009 season.  This includes creating the necessary wardrobe, sets and choreography.  It also includes inviting guest artists from a professional ballet company to supplement our local talent.  In two years' time, the Company will grow to a season of two performances; the Nutcracker in the fall of each year and a children’s ballet in the spring.  Eventually, the company will grow to a professional company performing three ballets each year.