The Orlando Ballet is an American professional

ballet company A ballet company is a type of dance troupe which performs classical ballet, neoclassical ballet, and/or contemporary ballet in the European tradition, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-round ba ...

based in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. Their main performance space is the

Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (commonly known as Dr. Phillips Center) is a performing arts center in Downtown Orlando, Florida, United States. It joined the Bob Carr Theater, which originally opened as the Orlando Municipal Audi ...

. The company was founded in 1974 as the Performing Arts Company of Florida. They changed their name in 1978 to the Southern Ballet Theatre, and began performances at the Bob Carr Theatre.

History

Since 2009, the company has been led by Artistic Director Robert Hill. The company performs the

Nutcracker A nutcracker is a tool designed to open nuts by cracking their shells. There are many designs, including levers, screws, and ratchets. The lever version is also used for cracking lobster and crab shells. A decorative version portrays a person w ...

annually. The ballet currently employs 23 full time dancers and 4 apprentice dancers. In 2019, Orlando Ballet decided to stop charging dancers to audition.

Orlando Ballet School

Orlando Ballet is also known for their training program, the Orlando Ballet School. They are an affiliate of the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

Controversy

Orlando Ballet had a highly publicized contract dispute with the

, along with Orlando Philharmonic and

Opera Orlando Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

regarding the performing arts center's new Steinmetz Hall. A deal was eventually reached.

References

External links

Official Website.
{{authority control Ballet companies in the United States Performing groups established in 1974