The mission of Ballet Arts Ensemble, a youth ballet company, is to provide educational and performing opportunities for its members while perpetuating the art of dance, with an emphasis in ballet, through . . .

Performance

BAE presents two concerts each season that include full-length ballets (Cinderella, Peter and the Wolf, Red Shoes, Aladdin’s Magic Lamp, La Boutique Fantasque, and Café Parisian) and mixed-repertoire performances with professional dancers and choreographers that often feature excerpts from classical ballets (Les Sylphides, Giselle, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Rodeo, and Paquita).  Every other year, BAE produces a full-length Nutcracker in collaboration with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra (KSO), featuring professional dancers in principal roles. 

BAE has performed in numerous community events including Michigan Youth Arts Festival, KSO Family Discovery and Youth Concert Series, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts’ Sunday Funday, Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Concerts, and Festival of Trees.  BAE also works closely with area artists and arts organizations in other collaborative events and reaches out to the community, performing for area schools, senior residences, and local organizations. 

Education

Dancers chosen for this exceptional dance group take two classical ballet classes a week in addition to the weekly 3-hour Ensemble class (with live accompaniment) and rehearsal block.  Over the years, BAE has also provided members with outstanding instruction by guest artists and visiting teachers from American Ballet Theatre, American Repertory Ballet, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Boston Ballet, Education for the Arts, Grand Rapids Ballet, Hubbard Street 2, Royal Ballet (London), Rutgers University, Tokyo Ballet, Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers, and Western Michigan University.  Frequently, guest choreographers set new works for mixed repertory concerts on BAE members.

Enrichment

In 2002, BAE established the W. Dale and Geraldine Crooks Scholarship to provide assistance for those serious dancers who wish to pursue summer studies in dance-related fields that enrich and further the recipient’s dance education.  BAE also funds annual field trips that enable Ensemble members to attend professional, dance-related productions within and outside of the state, including performances by American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Quad Cities, Dayton Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Western Michigan University Department of Dance.