Statements
Mission
Nashville Ballet creates, performs, teaches, and promotes dance as an essential and inspiring element of our community.
Background
Since its founding in 1986, Nashville Ballet has become the largest professional ballet company in Tennessee. Nashville Ballet presents a varied repertoire of classical ballet and boundary-pushing contemporary works by world-renowned choreographers, as well as original ballets by Artistic Director, Nick Mullikin, and Resident Choreographer Mollie Sansone.
Nashville Ballet owns its own building, the Martin Center for Nashville Ballet, a customized 44,000-square-foot facility that serves as a home for our professional dancers, school students, and administrative offices. Though some performances are held at the Martin Center for Nashville Ballet, most are held at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) in downtown Nashville.
Impact
Nashville Ballet (NB) presents a varied repertoire of classical and contemporary works, offers ballet and dance training for all ages and abilities through the School of Nashville Ballet, and brings Community Engagement Programming to schools, libraries, parks, and community centers throughout Middle Tennessee. We value inclusivity, equity, accessibility, and high standards for artistry - incorporating these through all that we do.
NB regularly promotes local artists and also up-and-coming choreographers from our own Company of dancers, giving them a platform to enhance their careers. This effort, paired with our track record of bringing in both emerging and highly sought-after artists from outside Nashville, means we always have something exciting for everyone.
NB programs BIPOC and female artists regularly and completes antiracism/equity-focused training in partnerships with BIPOC-led programs. This improves our practices and policies, rippling through how we approach programs and patrons. We offer educational programming aimed at youth living with physical disabilities because we believe that dance is for every body.
NB creates frequent opportunities to engage with our community outside of performances/programs through free events, partnering with local organizations, and ensuring we have multiple ways of soliciting honest (and often anonymous) feedback. This feedback is core to creating and improving programming each season.
These efforts are behind NB's ability to provide ongoing, unique value to the Nashville community. Through them we provide one-of-a-kind performances, highly impactful classes and programs, create opportunities for our dancers to grow, and add to the overall vibrance of Nashville. We are committed to staying on the cutting edge of dance.
Needs
1) General Support and Membership: Donors who contribute unrestricted dollars to Nashville Ballet's mission-critical activities are a part of our membership program, which offers a great package of experiential benefits. 2) Season Ticket Holders: A growing base of season ticket holders ensures continuously learning audiences -- a must-have for exceptional art! 3) Pointe Shoe Fund: Shoes are an essential tool for Nashville Ballet company dancers. Pointe shoes, worn by all female dancers, cost $75 per pair and last approximately one week. Last season, Nashville Ballet dancers danced through more than 750 pairs, which cost nearly $72,000! 4) Sponsorship Support: Nashville Ballet relies on institutional support from local and national partners. Sponsorships provide essential underwriting to pursue the mission while offering an effective way to connect businesses to patrons.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - Ballet |
| Secondary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - Arts Education |
| Tertiary Category: | Youth Development - Youth Development Programs |
Areas Served
Nashville Ballet serves a large and diverse geographic area via performances, School of Nashville Ballet, and Community Engagement initiatives, expanding across many areas of the Middle Tennessee region.
| TN - Cumberland |
| TN - Humphreys |
| TN - Trousdale |
| TN - Bedford |
| TN - Cannon |
| TN - Coffee |
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - DeKalb |
| TN - Dickson |
| TN - Fentress |
| TN - Franklin |
| TN - Giles |
| TN - Hickman |
| TN - Houston |
| TN - Jackson |
| TN - Lawrence |
| TN - Lewis |
| TN - Lincoln |
| TN - Macon |
| TN - Marshall |
| TN - Maury |
| TN - Overton |
| TN - Perry |
| TN - Pickett |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Putnam |
| TN - Smith |
| TN - Stewart |
| TN - Warren |
| TN - Wayne |
| TN - White |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Wilson |
| TN - Cheatham |
| TN - Montgomery |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Sumner |
