Ballet Arkansas is the foremost professional ballet company of the State of Arkansas and a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, founded in 1978. Over the course of the last 41 years, Ballet Arkansas' world-class education programs and performances have touched the lives of more than 250,000 Arkansans. Through the presentation of a vibrant and diverse repertory of classical and contemporary dance, Ballet Arkansas provides the region with bold, original programming for every taste, while making this programming accessible to all audiences. Since its conception, Ballet Arkansas has presented performing greats such as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev, in addition to a number of internationally celebrated dancers and companies. The company continued to expand its reach into communities throughout the state, reaching more than 20,000 Arkansans annually. 

Under the dynamic artistic direction of Michael and Catherine Fothergill, the company now consists of 15 full-time professional dancers and performs a vibrant repertory by celebrated choreographers such as George Balanchine, Agnes De Mille, Christopher Wheeldon, Ma Cong, Gerald Arpino, Val Caniparoli, Jimmy Orante, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Kiyon Gaines, Mariana Oliveira, Alice Klock, Florian Lochner, Yoshito Sakuraba and classical works by Marius Petipa, August Bournonville, Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, Kenneth Macmillan, Mikhail Fokine, and Leonide Massine, among many others. The company now auditions more than 400 professional dancers from all over the world each year, and receives nearly 100 submissions from choreographers across the globe who desire to premiere their work on the talented dancers of Ballet Arkansas.

As we enter the next phase of our search for a facility that suits our growing needs, we are looking forward to building upon our knowledge, growing our network, and utilizing the vast resources provided by the Artspace team. We are fortunate that Artspace sees great potential in our community and for the investment from the Windgate Foundation.