BalletMet
Who We Are: BalletMet is an innovator of dance, embraced by our community and beyond. We serve Central Ohio as a cultural and educational resource by engaging the best and brightest dancers and choreographers tolive and work in Columbus, attracting audiences to Central Ohio, and educating the next generation of dancers, audiences and supporters. With $7.6M annual operations, BalletMet is one of the nation’s 20 largest ballet companies, and our Dance Academy is among the largest affiliated with a professional U.S. dance company.
What We Do: Last year, BalletMet served over 47,000 community members and students. 40,000 audience members attended 37 performances in Columbus. Dance For All education and community engagement programs reach 7,000 dance students, school students, and life-long learners–many from underserved and special needs populations within our community. Our Dance Academy enrolls 800+ students in weekly classes throughout the school year, a Summer Intensive, and recreational classes, camps and workshops. BalletMet teaching artists deliver sequential Dance-in-Schools programs that align with Ohio Department of Education standards in 70 classrooms.
Why We're Important: As a best-in-class Ohio performing arts organization, BalletMet exemplifies artistic excellence. We attract and retain exceptionally talented dancers by offering full-time employment within a state-of-the-art facility. We create exciting dance by engaging the world’s leading choreographers to set new work on BalletMet dancers. We initiate collaborations with noted artists, companies and designers, sharing production costs to create innovative new works that can reach broad audiences. We build unique audience engagement methods to take dance outside of traditional venues and enthuse new individuals who attend our performances.
How We Impact The Community: BalletMet is an anchor in the Columbus cultural community, providingunmatched dance experiences and elevating the quality of life for Central Ohio audiences. BalletMet prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion in our programming, and we are committed to producing new work by choreographers traditionally underrepresented in classical ballet. BalletMet’s professional company and Academy students regularly perform at community events, bringing dance outside of traditional venues that can be seen as less accessible. BalletMet seeks to create enchanting arts experiences for our entire community, particularly for those traditionally underserved by ballet companies.
How You Can Help: BalletMet believes the arts serve a critical human need for self-expression and quality of life. To contribute to the arts in our communities BalletMet relies on donors, volunteers and advocates like you. We invite you to help us continue to bring the best dance experiences to Central Ohio, year after year. We welcome gifts at all levels from individuals, corporations, and foundations. We also welcome special events partners with our corporate community. We always treasure our volunteers and social media followers that help us by contributing time, talent and spreading the word!
Connect with BalletMet
322 Mount Vernon Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215
614-229-4860
Executive Director: Sue Porter
Email: sporter@balletmet.org
Development Director: Stephanie McManus
Email: smcmanus@balletmet.org
Board Chair: Herb Bresler
