The Richmond Ballet

Professional company performances - Richmond Ballet is one of Virginia's finest art and dance education institutions and has gained national and international acclaim as a premier dance organization. Nearly 35,000 people in and around The Richmond, va area joined Richmond Ballet for four repertory productions as well as full length productions of "The nutcracker and "firebird" with "serenade." Richmond Ballet also completed tours and lecture demonstrations at various schools and localities throughout The commonwealth of Virginia, including Virginia beach, reaching nearly 25,000 students and over 1,000 community patrons.

Minds in motion (mim) - mim is Richmond Ballet's primary community engagement program, reaching over 1,000 children from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. This in-school program features an engaging, movement-based curriculum taught by professional teaching artists and musicians in schools throughout Virginia and israel. Mim strives to nurture self-confidence in students and endeavors to cultivate communication and teamwork skills. Teaching artists follow a curriculum that guides students toward mastery of complex movement, timing, and choreography. Through The experience of successful group learning, students perceive and model The value and benefits of teamwork and respectful communication. The program concludes with an original production presented for a live audience, themed this year around celebrating voices from Virginia's past, present, and future. Approximately 50% of participants attend a title i school or a tuition-free independent school primarily serving low-income students. Since its inception, mim remains The only program of its kind in The commonwealth of Virginia. Nearly 800 students from sixteen participating schools in The Richmond area celebrated their dance achievements in a culminating performance with over 3,000 peers, families and community members in The audience. Through its residency program, mim also reached another 300 students and 1,000 community members in israel and portsmouth, Virginia.

Dance school - The school of Richmond Ballet offers training in a wide variety of dance forms, including Ballet, modern, theater dance, and character. With no audition requirement, admission to The school is inclusive. Dance classes are provided to almost 1,000 students, ages 4 to adult, 7 days a week. The school also provides advanced training for qualified students who perform with The Ballet's professional dance company. Over $280,000 given in financial aid and scholarships helped over 100 students participate in dance classes this year.